Now that the U.S. Senate has approved a nearly $61 billion relief package and President Joe Biden has signed it, desperately needed U.S. weaponry could arrive on the battlefield within days.
Yehor Cherniev, vice chairman of the National Security Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, declared that the weapons package (which has been delayed by political disputes by House Republicans since last fall) is “a lifeline” for the Forces. Kiev Armies. Shortly after approving the funding on Wednesday, Biden stated that weapons shipments would begin within “a few hours.”
However, they will not include everything that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested as his military struggles to hold its ground after two years of war against invading Russian forces.
Here’s a look at what Ukraine says it needs, what it’s expected to get from the U.S. aid package, as well as whether or not it will be enough to make an immediate difference.
Which wants ukraine
Above all, Zelensky assures that Ukraine needs artillery ammunition and long-range missiles to attack Russian forces, coupled with anti-aircraft defenses to protect cities and key infrastructure such as military bases, electricity generating plants and weapons factories.
On Monday, in his usual nightly message to Ukrainians, the president said: “We need to inflict maximum damage on everything that Russia uses as a base for violence and for its military logistics.”
Zelensky has explained that, to achieve this, Ukraine requires more long-range tactical missile systems (known as ATACMS and pronounced in English that sounds like “attack them”) to hit beyond enemy lines and deep into controlled territory. by the Russians. The United States fielded a small number of ATACMS, with a range of about 100 miles, and they were used to attack two Russian air bases in October.
Ukraine had requested longer-range ATACMS that could hit targets more than 300 kilometers away, and on Wednesday a senior US official confirmed that the Pentagon had already secretly sent some that were used to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea. last week and Russian troops in the southeast of the country on Tuesday night.
Artillery ammunition, such as 155-millimeter caliber shells that fit standard NATO launchers donated by the West, has been in short supply in Ukraine for more than a year, as Russian forces are firing ten times as much ammunition in the battlefield than outgunned Ukrainian troops, Zelensky asserted last week.
Zelensky has also described anti-aircraft defenses (and specifically the US-made Patriot surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile system) as “crucial.” Additionally, the Ukrainian president has pushed for more than a year to receive F-16 fighter jets to provide another layer of air defense over Ukraine’s ground war.
What you will receive
The Pentagon said Wednesday it would rush a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine, which will include Stinger shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and other air defense munitions, 155-millimeter projectiles, anti-tank guided missiles Javelin, cluster munitions and combat vehicles.
It also contains ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which can launch ATACMS missiles. A U.S. official declined to confirm whether ATACMS specifically would be part of the assistance, and the Pentagon has generally resisted discussing missile use in Ukraine, in part because of concerns that it could anger Russia if it admits that is sending long range weapons for war.
However, in a statement issued on Wednesday, Zelensky confirmed that the ATACMS were part of the package that the president described as “exactly the type of weapons our military needs.”
However, it does not include another Patriot air defense system nor does it specify that it contains additional missiles to those Ukraine is already deploying. It is unclear whether that could come in future shipments, as Germany and other allied countries are reportedly demanding. The systems are scarce and expensive, and giving Ukraine one more could mean removing it from protecting American assets, either within the country or around the world.
Furthermore, although Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, reiterated on Tuesday that NATO allies were working to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the United States has so far refused to donate any of its fighter jets. (However, the U.S. Air Force has helped train some of the dozens of Ukrainian pilots so far learning to fly them.) Some officials have said that around twelve pilots should be ready to fly the F-16s in combat by July, but only six aircraft will have been delivered to Ukraine by then.
Help to?
Although the $61 billion aid package is designed as a support for Ukraine, some Pentagon officials have stated that up to $48 billion will go to American weapons manufacturers either to replenish American stockpiles that have nearly been emptied during the last two years of war or to develop additional weapons for Ukraine.
The $1 billion injection from the Pentagon will come from remaining funds and could be “in transit by the end of the week,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. That could immediately help shore up Ukraine’s front line, where forces need to quickly stop Russian drones, planes and light bombers, as well as prevent Ukraine from losing ground, although another U.S. official warned Wednesday that weapons could take longer. a week to reach the battle front.
However, Ukrainian officials appear skeptical that enough weapons will be delivered in the coming months quickly or steadily to maintain momentum.
On Sunday, Zelensky said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press”: “When we have them, when we have them in our arms, then we will have the opportunity to take this initiative and move forward to protect Ukraine.” However, he added: “It depends on how soon we receive this help.”
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