ALMOST £50billion in US aid is finally headed to Kyiv to fortify its defences and grind Vladimir Putin’s war chest down.
In “just days”, fresh weapons could reach Ukraine’s frontline and experts say it could be just in time to blunt Russia’s new offensive.
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On Saturday, the US House approved its long-awaited £49billion ($61bn) military aid bill causing relief along Ukraine’s 600-mile front.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed it as a historic decision “that keeps history on the right track” against “Russian evil” whole cheers were heard in the trenches.
Writing on X, he argued the package “will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger.”
For six months, the major package had been stalled by Republican hardliners, leaving Kyiv’s forces vulnerable to deadly Russian attacks.
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With near impunity, Moscow has exploited that delay – pounding Ukraine’s cities and critical infrastructure and exhausting its air defence arsenal.
The new incoming war chest will be set to replenish desperately low stocks of ammunition, artillery units, air defence missiles, long-range missiles and electronic warfare systems.
It doubles US military aid given to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion 26 months ago – but cash-strapped commanders will have to focus on what they need first.
US officials believe weapons could arrive in days or weeks, while analysts argue this could be fast enough to hold off Putin’s advance.
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In the wake of the bill’s passing, Zelensky said he was readying his soldiers for a major Russian offensive expected in coming months, likely before summer.
He stated that foreign aid must “end up in tangible weapon systems”, specifically crucial long-range artillery, to allow Ukraine a chance of victory.
“We are preparing. The personnel is preparing. The soldiers are engaged in training,” he told NBC.
The Pentagon said Ukraine could receive its weapons “in days” due to the wide network of storage facilities in the US and Europe that are filled with the vital kit Kyiv needs.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said: “We would like very much to be able to rush the security assistance in the volumes we think they need to be able to be successful.”
President Joe Biden has said he would sign it “immediately” but it still needs to clear the Senate on April 23.
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If that happens, “we have a very robust logistics network that enables us to move material very quickly,” Ryder said, adding optimistically “We can move within days.”
US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairperson Senator Mark Warner told CBS that long-range missiles could be in transit to Ukraine “by the end of the week”.
Assuming US assistance in the coming weeks, the Institute for the Study of War argued Ukraine could thwart Russia’s offensive.
They may face “setbacks” while they wait, but the ISW assessed that “they will likely be able to blunt the current Russian offensive assuming the resumed US assistance arrives promptly”.
The US had supplies ready for months but couldn’t move them as it had spent all the Congress’ previously allocated £35billion ($44bn) worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts.
But the stalling of Western military aid has had devastating effects on the battlefield.
Ukraine spent months rationing its dwindling supply of munitions, while it had to leave its cities woefully undefended as it ran out of air defence missiles.
Soon, Kyiv’s forces will be able to finally fortify sections of the frontline that were at risk of collapsing and prepare for a new Russian offensive expected in late spring or early summer.
So, if the West really wants Ukraine to succeed, if we want Russia driven out of Ukraine, then there has to be a consistent effort to [supply Ukraine] and not sporadic jumps that we’ve seen
Stepan Stepanenko
Stepan Stepanenko, director of research at the Forum for Foreign Relations think-tank, argued that first and foremost Ukraine is desperate for artillery.
He told The Sun: “The Russians are advancing steadily, according to accounts of the US intelligence, but not to an extent that is detrimental to the Ukrainian situation.
“The Ukrainians need to stop that advance…but they have been starved essentially of artillery and air defence for six months which is very visible.
“So when the weapons do arrive in Ukraine, they’re going go firstly, fill up those gaps that have been created.”
Despite lots of noise surrounding long-range missiles needed so that Ukraine can blast targets in annexed Crimea or Russia, Stepanenko said they are “not going to have a huge impact on the battlefield”.
He added: “The things that do matter are things that affect the guys who are on the frontline and that’s artillery and essentially things that troops can hold in their hands, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades.”
However, he said that Ukraine’s weapons drought will mean that it is in no position to stage a counteroffensive.
“They have to secure the lines first before they advance.
“So, if the West really wants Ukraine to succeed, if we want Russia driven out of Ukraine, then there has to be a consistent effort to [supply Ukraine] and not sporadic jumps that we’ve seen.”
“Civilian lives are being lost daily,” he added.
The eastern city of Kharkiv is feeling this keenly.
Kharkiv’s mayor warned the frontline city is in danger of becoming a “second Aleppo” as constant waves of Russian airstrikes turn it into a wasteland.
Ihor Terekhov has begged for the West to step in and accused Vladimir Putin of terrorising its 1.3million residents and plunging the city into darkness.
Kharkiv, located on the eastern front only 30 miles from the Russian border, is increasingly becoming the target of Russia’s new offensive.
Every day its residents live through an airborne terror as analysts say Putin is hellbent on depopulating the city.
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Russian attacks on Kharkiv – liberated after six months of Moscow’s occupation in September 2022 – have been scaling up dramatically in previous weeks, killing dozens and leaving thousands without electricity.
Referencing the now-passed US aid bill, he told The Guardian: “We need that support to prevent Kharkiv being a second Aleppo.”
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Source: Sun
