Arms Trends in Ukraine: 24 November

Amid ongoing discussions about a “peace agreement” and Russia’s continuous strikes, it is more important than ever to support Ukraine. No, Ukraine’s frontline collapse is not happening — but Russia is doing everything possible to make you believe it is.

A new Norwegian study shows that maintaining support for Ukraine at the current pace would gradually enable Russian victory — an outcome that would cost Europe twice as much as ensuring Ukrainian superiority and forcing Russia into a sustainable peace.

Last week brought several major announcements: Ukraine will co-produce drones with the UK and Norway, and will jointly accelerate defence innovation with NATO. These are positive steps, but far from sufficient. It is time to assess the threats seriously.

In this edition:

• How Azov Trains Its “Officers of the Future”;

• Why Do Ukraine’s Ballistic Missiles Resemble Russia’s SAMs?

• NATO and Ukraine accelerate joint defense innovation;

• Europe Would Pay Less if Russia Loses — Study;

• 20+ additional developments in Ukraine and Russia.

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Military Transfers to Ukraine

The NATO Security Assistance and Training Initiative for Ukraine (NSATU) continues to operate without interruption despite ongoing political developments, ensuring that Ukraine receives essential defence materials. Around 350 personnel work at the NSATU headquarters in Wiesbaden. Each month, roughly 18,000 tons of supplies pass through logistics hubs in Poland and Romania before being delivered to Ukraine by road, rail, and air.

“We’re talking about roughly 65,000 logistical movements by road, rail, and air since Western support for Ukraine began in 2022 — and there hasn’t been a single significant incident,” NSATU Deputy Commander General Mike Keller said.

He dismissed claims that current negotiations around the U.S. peace plan are affecting the mission.

The general outlined NSATU’s core responsibilities in coordinating NATO assistance to Ukraine across three areas:

1. Support.
Providing weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Needs are identified jointly by partners and Ukraine and can be met through bilateral arrangements, NATO mechanisms, or the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (the “Ramstein format”), which includes 57 nations plus the EU. There is also a UK-led NATO Trust Fund, used for smaller deliveries and to support the operation of repair centers in Ukraine.

2. Training coordination.
NSATU helps organize around 250 courses and training programs, some lasting several weeks. The largest contributor is EUMAM UA — the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine.

3. Force development.
This covers long-term capability development and the overall modernization of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Read article: How NATO’s Security Assistance and Training Mission Supports Ukraine

Additional developments:

• Ukraine could receive up to $5 billion in military aid from its allies under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program by the end of the year, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.

• 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 Australia and New Zealand are prepared to contribute around $65 million to purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine. These two countries will become the first non-NATO states to contribute to the PURL program. The funds may be pooled with contributions from another country or a combination of European states, possibly including Canada, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands.

• 🇩🇪 Ukraine will receive a record €11.5 billion from Germany for artillery, drones, military equipment, and other gear. The lower house of the German parliament approved the federal budget for 2026.

• 🇫🇮 Finland has officially joined the international maritime coalition aimed at strengthening the development of Ukraine’s Navy. The coalition, led by the United Kingdom and Norway, currently consists of 17 member states.

• 🇺🇸 Reportedly, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stopped using Altius drones produced by Anduril due to their vulnerability to Russian electronic warfare systems. According to The wall street Journal, the drones were losing connection and failing to hit their targets.

  Because of frequent malfunctions and overall unreliability, the SBU completely discontinued its use back in 2024.

  The company said it has been present in Ukraine almost continuously to refine its software and weapons systems, and reported that its drones have performed successfully against a wide array of Russian military assets.

• 🇨🇿 Former Czech Prime Minister Fiala stated that since the start of Russia’s aggression, the country has spent $4.57 billion on assistance to Ukraine. The expenditures include military aid, economic and diplomatic projects, and funding for hosting Ukrainian refugees.

• 🇨🇿 In the Czech Republic, a fundraising campaign has been launched to raise money for interceptor drones that will target and destroy Russian drones over Ukraine. The campaign is named Charlie One. The cost of the Charlie One interceptor drone is approximately 60,000 Czech crowns ($2,880).

• 🇨🇿 The Czech foundation Gift for Putin will no longer buy Flamingo cruise missiles from Ukrainian company Fire Point due to Fire Point’s alleged connections to a recent corruption scandal.

• 🇨🇱 Chile’s foreign minister has ruled out the possibility of selling Marder IFVs to Germany for subsequent transfer to Ukraine, stating that supplying weapons to countries at war is prohibited. However, negotiations are still ongoing. According to media, Germany will likely transfer these IFVs to Ukraine, and in return, Chile would receive access to modern air-defense systems.

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How Azov Trains its “Officers of the Future”

Summary of an interview with Lt. Colonel Arsen “Lemko” Dmytryk, Chief of Staff of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov.”