Ukraine Eyeing Final Phase of War Plan, Deputy PM Says

Ukrainian battlefield success and Western unity are allowing Kyiv to plan for the final phase of its existential war with Russia, the country's deputy prime minister has said. This requires long-term, scaled-up military assistance and clarity on what weapons will be provided and when.

Olha Stefanishyna is Ukraine's deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. She told Newsweek in an exclusive interview that Kyiv expects "clarity" on the provision of advanced platforms like F-16 fighter jets and MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) as its troops push a gradual and costly counteroffensive in the south and east of the country.

Stefanishyna spoke with Newsweek one week after the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. There, Ukraine agreed bilateral security deals with G7 nations but largely failed to secure the concrete path to NATO membership that the country has long sought.

The G7 agreements include pledges to maintain and expand the provision of military land, air and sea equipment; help build up Ukraine's mauled defense industrial base; train Kyiv's forces; share intelligence; and coordinate on cyber defense.

Stefanishyna said the deals will "definitely" mean more powerful and advanced weapons for Ukrainian soldiers. "The core of the security guarantees is the long-term commitment," she added.

"Undertaking this commitment with Ukraine enforces a number of decisions taken in the capitals, which means multiannual planning, restructuring defense planning, restructuring the priorities for the defense industries domestically, shaping the policy and comprehensive approach within the European Union, within the alliance."

Stefanishyna said: "It will allow Ukraine, first and foremost, to count on the sustainability of providing Ukraine with the necessary elements of the ammunition and predictability of these supplies."

Kyiv will use the bilateral security pacts as foundation for its military endgame, Stefanishyna added. Ukrainian troops are now pressing a gradual offensive at multiple points along the 800-mile front. Kyiv has said it has liberated several settlements, though has not yet achieved a decisive breakthrough. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment. We have not been able to substantiate the claims.

"In the first months of the war, it was crisis management," Stefanishyna said. "We had to get everything we needed to survive. We now have to prepare everything we need to proceed further. But, to be able to plan the victory, we need to have sustainability and predictability.

"It should be a coordinated structure and a predictable process, which is equally important throughout the war but also after the war is over and Ukraine is becoming a NATO member," Stefanishyna added.

The NATO summit left many open questions for Ukraine. Though Kyiv will not need to complete a Membership Action Plan to join the alliance, NATO states declined to provide any concrete timeline or detailed list of criteria for Ukraine to fulfil. Leaders have made clear—and Ukraine accepts—that it cannot join the bloc while its hot war with Russia continues.

Kyiv did win a host of new weaponry commitments in Vilnius, including more U.K.-French Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles and dozens of German and British armored vehicles and tanks. But some platforms—primarily U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets and ATACMS munitions—remain elusive.

Asked if Kyiv is any closer to receiving ATACMS after Vilnius, Stefanishyna said: "Yes, I guess so. There was a very precise discussion of this issue bilaterally between presidents."

"Some of the technicalities were presented by Lloyd Austin, the defense secretary of the United States," Stefanishyna added, "and I think we have a full clarity there. I cannot operate on a timeline because it's a very sensitive issue, and I'm not a military person... But there is full clarity on the issue."

As for F-16s, "the training will start very soon, in August," Stefanishyna said. She was referring to a decision announced at Vilnius by a coalition of 11 nations that have signed up to instruct and facilitate eventual Ukrainian use of the aircraft.

"Training will take two to three months," Stefanishyna added. "And we will prepare the infrastructure for the F-16s domestically. I think it's really optimistic to speak of something before the end of the year... But, by the end of the year, there will be clarity."