Ukraine holds its breath as US approves $60 billion in military aid

Kyiv, Ukraine (CNN) — Soldiers deployed on the front lines in Ukraine say the prospect of a $60 billion military aid package for Kiev getting final approval in the US Congress would serve as a major morale boost as Russia looks to accelerate its advance.

The Ukraine aid bill that was approved this Saturday in the United States House of Representatives will now have to go to the Senate this Tuesday. If it passes the upper house of Congress, President Joe Biden said he would immediately sign it into law so “we can quickly get Ukraine the arms and ammunition to meet their immediate needs on the battlefield.” Can send equipment.”

Ukraine’s wish list is no secret. What they need most is: artillery shells and air defense systems.

For months, Ukrainian soldiers have talked about being badly outnumbered by Russian forces at the front. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said the ratio is 10 versus 1 in Russia’s favor.

“To win, we need ammunition… Our artillery is starving,” an artillery reconnaissance commander from the 110th Mechanized Brigade, identified only as “Terran,” told CNN after Saturday’s vote. Have been.”

Teren knows what he’s talking about, having spent two years defending the industrial town of Avdeevka before it came under Russian occupation in February. Since then, Moscow’s forces have had considerable success in advancing westward.

To highlight just one of many areas in the Donetsk region: Ukrainian observation group DeepState last week followed a series of Russian advances along a railway line in the center of a large city called Ochertyn.

Although Ochertyn itself has no strategic value, it is located on a hill, making it a desirable military target. An official with Ukraine’s Eastern Command – who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly – told CNN that if Russian forces could capture the city and hold it in their power , then they could place routes under vital Ukrainian logistics connecting three major military centres: Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk and Velika Novosilka.

Now, with new US military aid just days away from being green-lit, the question is how quickly critical weapons like the 155mm howitzer can reach the front lines to stop the Russian advance.

Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said before the House of Representatives vote last week that the US Defense Department was “ready to respond immediately” after the order was given.

He said, “As you know, we have a very strong logistics network that allows us to move material very quickly. As we have done in the past, we can move in a matter of days. “

That message was echoed by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, who told CBS News on Sunday that he expected the material “to be in transit by the end of the week.”

Although US officials are not saying this outright, a US source familiar with providing military aid to Ukraine said that much of it is already stored in warehouses in Germany and Poland, apparently making it difficult to reach Ukraine. The time taken to reach will be reduced. The source also said that artillery shells would be among the first materials to arrive.

Once crossed the border, Kyiv authorities will try to get the material to where it is needed as quickly as possible, although this will pose a significant logistical challenge given the sheer volume of material involved.

In other words, the aforementioned 10-to-1 advantage that Russia currently enjoys will not disappear immediately.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has warned that Ukraine “will face shortages of artillery ammunition and air defense interceptors in the coming weeks and that these shortages are restricting Ukraine’s ability to conduct effective defensive operations.” Is.

ISW estimates that Russia may try to attack transportation networks such as railways to complicate distribution – something it did with an attack in the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk on Friday – and increase speed along the lines to the front in a limited window. What remains before American aid arrives.

The city of Chasiv Yar could be one of the epicenters of any intensified Russian offensive in the near future, as it has been a key military forward position for Ukraine since the Russians captured Bakhmut, about 10 kilometers to the east, about a year ago. Is.

Multiple reports from Ukrainian troops describe heavy fighting in several villages between Chasiv Yar and Bakhmut as Russian forces try to advance. The head of the Ukrainian army believes the Kremlin has ordered the capture of the city on May 9, the day Russia celebrates its victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

Chasiv Yar is also being bombarded from the air by huge “guided” bombs dropped from Russian warplanes. Analyst Rob Lee has posted a series of videos on his Ukrainian airline”.

Ukraine will seek to provide the United States with a range of surface-to-air missile systems to counter that threat, as well as more interceptors for the Patriot air defense system, which can attack cities and key infrastructure. The main means of defeating missile attacks against. nuclear power plants.

“We need front-line air defense as well as the protection of our cities and towns,” Zelensky said.

Finally, in addition to its immediate weapons needs, it appears likely that Ukraine will also receive long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) in the initial tranche of arms deliveries, Senate Intelligence Commission Chairman Warner indicated. That they believed they would be part of the first batch.

The US has already supplied short-range versions of ATACMS to Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials have not hidden their desire to acquire the latest version. With a range of about 300 kilometers, the missiles would give Kiev the ability to increase attacks on Russian airfields, fuel depots and weapons storage sites, which would have a greater long-term impact on Russia’s war effort.

And if Ukraine’s European allies believe they may now have some breathing room before pressing again for more aid, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba made it clear that he does not agree with the U.S. The move is seen as a general boost by the US.

“We can avoid the worst scenarios if we act together and without fear,” he announced Monday at an online meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers. In which he called upon the countries which have Patriot and SAMP/T air defense systems. , European-made, along with artillery and ammunition, will be donated to Ukraine.

“Now that everyone is here at the table, it’s time to act, not argue,” Kuleba said.

– CNN’s Andy Carey reports from Kiev. Victoria Butenko, Daria Tarasova-Markina and Svitlana Vlasova contributed reporting.