'A defining moment for our generation': how the center through which Western countries seek and send weapons to Ukraine works

Journalists Edition with the BBC visited a military center where representatives of European countries coordinate the delivery of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. They told how the distribution and work of the center is going on.

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Representatives of 26 countries are constantly working in Stuttgart (Germany), they make sure that Ukraine receives weapons from all countries as quickly as possible.

It was from this premises that the allies had already organized the shipment of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine totaling almost $8 billion - 66 thousand tons, or, as one British officer calculated, 5 thousand London double-decker buses.

Almost everything that happens at the Patch Barracks military base is strictly classified, filming, photographing and talking with Ukrainians who participate in the work of a structure called the International Donors Coordination Cell (IDCC) is strictly prohibited.

Military personnel from dozens of countries constantly resolve issues by phone and stare intently at computer screens. There is a small group of Ukrainians here, led by a lieutenant general. At the beginning of each day, he talks about what the country needs.

Although the situation, especially in the Donbass, is escalating, they are not panicking in Stuttgart, everyone knows that now they need to act quickly and in a collected manner.

At a separate group of tables sit those who are looking for the necessary.

Sometimes, for example, they find a state that is ready to give weapons to Ukraine, but then they have to look for the necessary ammunition or means for transporting it in other countries. Center staff have created a database where Ukrainians can list their top priorities. Donor countries receive this information - and decide whether they can - and want - to meet these requests.

From the border to the front

A high-ranking British officer, Brigadier Chris King, said that Ukraine is receiving military assistance by air, rail and sea. At the same time, it is delivered to different places “to prevent the possibility of failure in one place.”

According to King, Russia tried to hit the arms supply routes, but failed to achieve “significant” disruptions to these supplies.

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It is Ukraine itself that transports weapons across the border itself, says Rear Admiral Duke Heinz, a senior American officer who works for the IDCC.

“Ukrainians come to Poland and other countries to get them - so they decide how they cross the border,” he explains.

After that, the received weapons can be at the front within 48 hours.

Recently, Ukraine has repeatedly said that Western weapons supplied to it are too few and too slow. As Russia continues its bombardment of the Donbass, requests for help become more desperate. Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Anna Malyar said that so far Kyiv has received only 10% of the amount of weapons it asked for.

But Rear Admiral Heinz takes a very different point of view.

"I'm sure they won't run out of ammunition," he says.

Despite the sad news from Donbass, he insists: “I would not say that they are losing. I'd say they're taking a hit."

Heavy weapons and NATO standards

In recent months, requests from Ukraine have changed greatly. The IDCC was created at the end of February to coordinate arms supplies from the US and UK. At the beginning of the war, the West sent Ukraine mainly portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems. But now Ukraine needs much more serious means - artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and air defense systems.

In the early days of the war, IDCC searched for old Soviet weapons and ammunition in the former Warsaw Pact countries - the same ones that the Ukrainian army has. But, according to King, such reserves are gradually being depleted. There is only one plant left in all of Europe that produces Soviet 152 mm artillery shells.

The Ukrainian army is gradually switching to weapons of NATO standards. Over the past few months, more than 100 American M-777 howitzers and 300 155-mm shells have been sent to Ukraine.

But such deliveries created one problem, which also plays a role in the war - Ukrainians need to be trained to use weapons that are new to them. IDCC organizes such training outside of Ukraine. Some Ukrainian military personnel are now in the UK, mastering new artillery pieces and British multiple launch rocket systems. Simpler systems can be taught virtually through videos and written instructions.

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Neither Heinz nor King believe that this war can end quickly. Both say they are ready for the fact that they will have to work in IDCC for a long time: “We are not talking about months. I think we'll be here for a few more years."

"The most important work since 1952"

Against the background of a growing security threat in NATO, questions have begun to be raised about whether the alliance is really ready for a war that could last several years. Such a war could be a serious test of the alliance's strength. In addition, NATO's stocks of weapons and ammunition are limited.

But the staff at the Stuttgart center are convinced that the stakes are higher than ever. Heinz calls his mission to deliver weapons to Ukraine "the most important job our command has done" since 1952, when US European Command was actually created.

King calls this “the defining moment for our generation” - in his opinion, the choice now is very simple: “We will either help Ukraine fight, or we will accept that - maybe not immediately, but in a few years - we will have to fight a war where something else. If we don't do what needs to be done now, we will create the conditions for future conflicts."

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