As Ukrainian forces battle Kremlin troops for control of the eastern Donbass region and seek to end the war this year — a goal that requires more air and missile defenses, early warning systems, ammunition and other equipment — defense officials and experts say it is faster The influx of such lethal aid can bring the conflict to an end more quickly. Whether this is realistic, however, is up for debate. The US and its European allies and partners have struggled to keep up with Ukraine’s calls for more weapons, with the former giving only $7.3 billion in lethal aid to Kyiv as of this week.
The latest $400 million package, announced last week, includes four High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS). The truck-mounted systems can fire multiple satellite-guided munitions, allowing the Ukrainians to more accurately hit targets at ranges of more than 40 miles — farther than any artillery system previously issued to the Ukrainians.
HIMARS – 12 of which have now been committed to Ukraine since last month – have given its forces a boost in its fighting, which in recent months has centered on a battle for control of its eastern perimeter that has reached a stalemate with Russia is making small advances. But the missile systems helped stall it, with the country’s defense minister tweeting last weekend that the HIMARS deployment “has already made a HUGE difference on the battlefield.” “More of them too [American] Ammunition and equipment will increase our strength and help demilitarize the terrorist state,” he added. The Ukrainians have used the system to hit about 20 Russian ammunition depot targets since acquiring the systems in recent weeks, according to media reports, making it clear that the equipment is working effectively in combat. Although four of the launchers are currently in use by U.S.-trained Ukrainian troops — with four more expected to arrive in the country this month — they are still far short of the up to 300 multiple rocket launchers Ukrainian officials say they need to counter the Kremlin.
In addition, Russian forces have the ability to fire several times over what Ukrainian forces can handle, keeping the war at a state of attrition in the country’s industrial heartland, the Donbass. The Biden administration, however, has delayed sending large quantities of offensive and defensive missile systems along with other high-tech equipment, wary that the systems may be too complex for Ukrainian forces to learn to operate and keep on the move, according to Mark Cancian, a former Pentagon official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Standard courses to teach how to operate such systems usually take months, but have been compressed into three weeks for the Ukrainians, a much shortened timetable.
“I think the administration actually, I know they don’t want to send equipment before the Ukrainians are ready to maintain and operate,” he told The Hill.
That theory has since been partially debunked when a senior US defense official told reporters last week that the Pentagon found it “impressive” how quickly the Ukrainians learned how to operate and deploy HIMARS. Another problem, Cancian noted, is the fear that if equipment goes through too quickly it can’t be maintained. “I think also the administration is worried that at some point … someone is going to take a picture of a field full of junk equipment that the Ukrainians could no longer maintain,” he said. “I think that’s what’s causing the administration to accelerate what they’re providing.”
Even with Western commitments, the Ukrainians still do not have enough weapons to end the war soon against the Russians, who could still dip into their stockpiles to break the impasse in Donbass, according to its former Supreme Commander NATO, retired General Wesley Clark .
“With Russian reserves building up, about 20 to 40 battalion groups held back, there could be a strategic breakthrough,” Clarke told CNN last week. “This discovery . . . could be the key to the defeat of the Ukrainian army in Donbas.” And the Kremlin has time on its side, the Finnish ambassador said earlier this week, predicting that Russia could fight on for a “very long time” as US-led sanctions on Moscow over the attack likely won’t they will weaken her powers. in a year. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said in June that the alliance must be prepared for the war to last “years”, adding that giving Kyiv more modern weapons soon would increase its chances of being able to push the Russians out of the Donbass. Rights group says UAE arrests lawyer representing Khashoggi Zelensky warns of ‘media terror’ of propaganda and disinformation amid Russian invasion Stoltenberg’s assessment of a protracted war was boosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move on Thursday to sign a law allowing his government to introduce special financial measures to support Moscow’s forces during “anti-terrorist and other operations”. Worryingly, after nearly five months of war, cracks have begun to appear between the US and its European and global partners as countries are affected by domestic pressures and crises, including runaway inflation and energy prices, fears of recession and political pressure.
A war of attrition in Ukraine could overwhelm the world’s ability to focus on providing support to Kyiv, regional observers warn.