The Pentagon announces a new military aid to Ukraine
On Friday, the Pentagon announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $775 million aimed at helping Kyiv transform the course of battles and restore lands occupied by Russian forces.
A senior Pentagon official said in an interview with reporters that the Russian invasion that began on February 24 has stopped, saying that the new aid includes precision missiles, anti-armor weapons, reconnaissance drones, artillery, and demining equipment, which could bolster Ukrainian attacks.
“You see a complete and complete lack of Russian advances on the battlefield,” the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
This 19th aid package since the start of the war comes at a time when the battles show the Ukrainian forces’ use of precision-guided weapons supplied by the allies in order to carry out strikes in remote locations behind enemy lines, in addition to destroying dozens of Russian weapons depots and command centers since mid-June.
Recently, a Russian airport and other facilities in the depths of the Crimea were severely damaged, and this week an arms depot exploded about 50 km inside the Russian province of Belgorod.
Military experts pointed out that these incidents indicate Ukraine’s ability to launch deep strikes behind Russian defense lines and its readiness to launch attacks six months after the invasion.
This new list of weapons appears to be intended for a time when “the Ukrainians are ready to attempt a major offensive,” defense strategist Philip O’Brien wrote on Twitter.
The new aid package includes missiles for the HIMARS systems that the Ukrainians use to strike Russian arms depots and HARM air-to-surface anti-radar missiles.
It also includes 15 “Sky Eagle” reconnaissance drones, 1,000 Javelin anti-armor missiles, 1,500 TOW missiles and new artillery with ammunition.
“We want to ensure that Ukraine has a continuous flow of ammunition to meet its needs, and that’s what we’re trying to do with this package,” the US official said.
According to the American Institute for the Study of War, which publishes daily analyzes of the battles, the Russian forces have barely made progress within weeks on the southern and eastern fronts, and appear to be on the defensive after Ukraine demonstrated its ability to carry out strikes deep into Russian-controlled territory.
The institute said that “the Russian military leadership is likely to increasingly lose confidence in the security of Crimea” after several explosions there destroyed the Saki air base and headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.
He added that the Russians are facing an increase in attacks inside the areas they occupied by Ukraine supporters.
HIMARS precision-guided missiles, which can fly up to 80 km, are part of this transformation in the war.
“You see that the Russians are still paying a heavy price for the Ukrainian attacks, especially with the use of HIMARS systems,” the official emphasized.
But the US official admitted that the Ukrainian forces had not made any significant progress, in addition to the fact that they continued to incur heavy losses as a result of the Russian bombing.
The US Institute for the Study of War indicated that the Russians are now threatening the main city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
He said the Russians, seeing a threat posed by Ukrainian forces, were mining land to protect their land lines of communication.
The US official stated that the package also includes large equipment for demining.
He said the overall effect of the weapons provided by the United States and Ukraine’s other allies is to “unload” the offensive of Russian forces “with implications for its sustainability”.
“We see this overall picture of Russian forces being more vulnerable than they thought,” he added.
