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Ukraine is preparing for a different type of war in its eastern regions, as Russia seeks to fully control Donbass.
U.S. defense officials have been warning for weeks that the terrain will dictate a different type of battlefield in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and modern artillery will take center stage as Kyiv tries to repel Russia’s attacks.
Russian soldiers pose next to a T-80 tank at a position near the Azovstal front line in the besieged port city of Mariupol. (Maximilian Clark / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images)
ZELENSKY WARNS, RUSSIA IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE OTHER COUNTRIES, IF IT SUCCESSES IN UKRAINE
“The Kremlin has openly announced its intention to conquer eastern Ukraine, and the events on the ground leave no doubt that we are witnessing the initial stages of a massive offensive by Russian forces in Donbass,” said the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. (OSEC) said at a meeting on Friday before the Special Permanent Council in Vienna.
“All indications are that the dynamics of the battlefield will soon shift from closer combat to longer-range fire, where artillery and missile systems are crucial,” he added.
The United States announced this week that it would send another $ 800 million package to Ukraine, backed by security aid that a senior U.S. defense official said was “strategically” planned with the Ukrainians to help them with the looming battle. in Donbass.
Despite ongoing fighting and shelling in areas of Donbass, the United States estimates that Russia has not yet launched its offensive campaign there and is still conducting “shaping operations” instead.
The United States has not only sent additional supplies of howitzers, which are long-range canon-like weapons, tactical howitzers, field equipment and spare parts, but the US Air Force has developed a Phoenix Ghost drone specifically designed for Ukraine. .
A senior defense official said the drone would have similar capabilities to the Switchblade drone – which is easily carried and fired by a single soldier and detonates once it crashes into its target – but the full range of its capabilities remains undisclosed.
In this image, taken from footage provided by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers use a launcher with American Javelin missiles during military exercises in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, January 12, 2022 (Press Service of the Ukrainian Ministry of defense via AP, file)
GERMANY AFFAIRS ARMS SUPPLIES FOR UKRAINE, INSTEAD OF PROVIDING TRAINING AND MAINTENANCE
Several other allies, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, have stepped up their support for Ukraine. But nations like Germany are under fire for their weak aid.
Germany tried to dispel criticism this week, saying it had expanded its capabilities to send weapons to Kyiv, claiming that the German military had said it “could no longer supply weapons from its own reserves”.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would send spare parts to Ukraine for its vehicles and defense equipment and work with other nations to increase their defense aid.
Scholz said the decision was backed by NATO allies, including the United States, but on Friday Washington’s ambassador to the OSEC scoffed at speculation that anything but immediate help was adequate.
DONETSK, UKRAINE – MARCH 01: Pro-Russian separatists, in uniforms without insignia, gather in the separatist-controlled settlement of Nikolaevka (Nikolaevka) and Bugas, in the Donetsk region (DNR) of Ukraine on March 1, 2022. (Photo by Stringer / Anadolu Agency through Getty Images)
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“Ukraine desperately needs modern weapons and ammunition to defend itself in this new and deadly phase of the conflict. It needs these weapons and ammunition now as soon as possible to get them there. No long-term purchase agreements. of weapons, “Carpenter said.
“We must act quickly, together, to immediately give Ukraine the ability to protect its civilian population from the horrors of this war – from atrocities such as those in Bucha, Hostomel and Borodyanka,” he added.
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