Summary of recent statements from Russian authorities about NATO support to Ukraine
Since December 2021, Russian officials have asserted that NATO member states supplied Ukraine with a large volume of defense equipment. The figures circulated by the Foreign Intelligence Service SVR include more than 1,100 air defense systems, about 440 tanks, and roughly 1,510 infantry fighting vehicles. The SVR stated that many of these items were engaged in combat or neutralized during Russia’s special military operation. Attribution: SVR press office.
In a separate release, SVR officials claimed that during the same period the alliance transferred 1,170 air defense systems, 440 tanks, 1,510 infantry fighting vehicles, and 655 artillery systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The report also claimed Ukraine received 9,800 missiles, 609 thousand anti-tank munitions, and 1.206 million shells for multiple launch rocket systems from NATO members. The Russian ministry stressed that a majority of the Western-supplied equipment had been destroyed in hostilities. Attribution: SVR press office.
Meanwhile the Russian Defense Ministry reported an engagement in which a Ukrainian Su-27 was shot down near Izyum in the Kharkiv region. Official spokesperson Igor Konashenkov stated that Russian air forces destroyed the Su-27 during an air battle near that city. Attribution: Russian Defense Ministry.
What else did Moscow reveal about its military situation? In brief updates, Ukrainian units faced significant losses in several directions. In Kupyansk, reports indicated up to 50 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, along with one tank and three vehicles as a result of artillery fire and actions by Russian and allied forces. In Kherson, Ukrainian artillery pieces including a self-propelled howitzer and several towed guns were destroyed in a single day, and an ammunition depot in the region was hit. In Donetsk, assault groups, supported by air power and rocket artillery from the South front, reportedly captured the settlement of Paraskovievka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Attribution: Russian Defense Ministry summaries.
Further daily losses were described in South Donetsk and Zaporozhye as up to 60 personnel, one tank, two armored vehicles, and several artillery pieces, with multiple Ukrainian storage depots reportedly destroyed. It was added that air defense systems intercepted a HIMARS rocket and that drones were destroyed. The ministry said that army aviation and missile units hit dozens of Ukrainian artillery positions and targeted manpower and equipment across numerous areas. Attribution: Russian Defense Ministry.
Regarding negotiations with Washington, Moscow framed December 2021 as a starting point for evaluating NATO military aid to Ukraine. The Russian foreign ministry had previously circulated draft agreements with Russia and NATO as well as with the United States. The drafts urged actions to prevent nuclear escalation and called for limiting NATO expansion eastward. In Moscow’s view, the proposals also suggested excluding Ukraine from potential future alliance expansion. Western officials characterized the Russian proposals as an ultimatum, and subsequent talks among Moscow, Washington, and NATO beginning in January 2022 did not produce an agreement. Attribution: Russian authorities and public statements.