A school house is seen destroyed after a Russian missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine on April 13, 2022. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Wolfgang Schwan
U.S. Rushes Weapons to Ukraine as Russia Coils for New Offensive Into the Donbas
“There’s a sense of urgency,” says senior defense official, as Biden reportedly weighs approving a massive $750 million arms package.
Russia is staging helicopters, artillery systems, and additional troops to prepare for a major assault in the Donbas, while the United States is pushing additional weaponry “as fast as we can” to help Ukraine survive that onslaught, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
“There’s a sense of urgency,” a senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday. “Clearly we understand as the Russians begin to refocus their efforts on the Donbas and in the south, that they are prepared to concentrate the force and the combat power they have available to them that time is of the essence.”
The Biden administration was considering as much as $750 billion in additional assistance and weapons to Ukraine, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said the administration is considering getting longer-range weapons to Ukraine to supplement the thousands of Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles it’s already sent.
Russia has scaled back its air campaign recently, from a high of as many as 300 sorties a day to now an estimated 150 sorties a day—almost all of which are concentrating their airstrikes on Mariupol and the Donbas region.
To date, the United States has provided more than $2.5 billion in security assistance since President Joe Biden took office, including ammunition, drones, missiles, and anti-tank weapons; $1.7 billion of that has occurred since Russia invaded in February. The United States most recently provided Ukraine 100 Switchblade drones, which it taught Ukrainians to operate.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for more help.
“Without additional weaponry, this war will become an endless bloodbath, spreading misery, suffering, and destruction. Mariupol, Bucha, Kramatorsk—the list will be continued. Nobody will stop Russia except Ukraine with Heavy Weapons,” Zelenskyy tweeted.
An announcement on additional aid was expected very soon, and once announced, “it can be in the Ukrainian hands in as little as 48 hours, sometimes faster,” the defense official said. “So we have been moving with a sense of alacrity since the beginning, and we obviously are mindful of the clock as it ticks in these recent days here, and as the Russians begin to reposture themselves for a renewed offensive in the East.”