Potent weapons are reaching Ukraine's military forces faster than they know how to use them.
Training Ukrainian troops on how to use the sophisticated weapons is a growing problem, according to The New York Times.
Junior Sgt. Dmytro Pysanka and his crew operate an anti-tank gun hidden in southern Ukraine. More than a month ago, they obtained a high-tech, Western-supplied laser range finder to help them in targeting Russian tanks.
According to the Times, Ukrainian troops are having a difficult time figuring out how to use it.
"It's like being given an iPhone 13 and only being able to make phone calls," Pysanka said.
Some of the troops knew how to operate it but have since rotated elsewhere.
"I have been trying to learn how to use it by reading the manual in English and using Google Translate to understand it," Pysanka said.
Ukraine has continually called on the West for additional weapons to fight the Russians, the Times noted. But the absence of proper training has become a problem.
"Ukrainians are eager to employ Western equipment, but it requires training to maintain," said Michael Kofman, the director of Russian studies at C.N.A., a research institute in Arlington, Va. "Some things it's not easy to rush."
The United States has pledged about $54 billion in aid for Ukraine since the war started and has sent a wide range of military equipment to the war-torn nation.
But the Biden administration, looking to avoid a more direct confrontation with Russia, has declined to send military advisers back into Ukraine to help train forces on how to use new weapons systems, the Times noted.
The lack of proper training has put Ukrainian soldier's under pressure even as they learn how to use some of the weapons.
"But there are types of weapons that you can't learn from intuition: surface-to-air missiles, artillery and some gear," Sgt. Andriy Mykyta said.
"So we need formal courses," he added.
Ukrainian forces have been locked in a battle for control of the country's east, The Associated Press noted. The troops are hoping to buy themselves some time while they await the arrival of the advanced rockets and anti-aircraft weapons promised by the West.
But the arms deliveries are possibly weeks away. Ukraine is faced with a prolonged period of combat, military analysts said.