Earlier today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that the U.S. was sending Ukraine an additional $1 billion in military aid as the Ukrainians struggle with depleted ammunition and insufficient long range artillery. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley joined Secretary Austin in Brussels to meet with some 45 members of the international community to discuss assistance to Ukraine. According to the Associated Press:
"The latest package, the U.S. said, includes anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that U.S. forces are training Ukrainian troops on now. All are key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested as they battle to stall Russia’s slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region. [snip]
The HIMARS and anti-ship systems are the kinds of longer range capabilities that over time can make a difference in the fight, Milley said. He said Ukraine will have trained HIMARS crews in the fight in a few weeks.
'If they use the weapon properly and it’s employed properly, they ought to be able to take out a significant amount of targets and that will make a difference,' he said. But he also noted that the numbers clearly favor the Russians." (our emphasis)
Austin warned the attendees that Ukraine needs substantial, ongoing military and humanitarian support. Ukraine's waging a long war of attrition against an enemy that employs war crimes and terror to achieve military objectives, and who can resupply its forces across its nearby border with the Donbas. Keep the tools that Ukraine needs flowing, and not just from the U.S.
(photo: Secretary Austin with Ukraine's Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov. Yves Herman / AP)
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