US aid to Ukraine offers respite but not frontline breakthrough – Bloomberg
The United States' approval of over US$60 billion in aid will be a lifeline for Ukrainian soldiers in dire straits. However, according to the American publication Bloomberg, it's unlikely to turn the tide of the war.
Source: Bloomberg
Quote: "Much will depend on how quickly US assistance can get to the front line after the House of Representatives approved the military and economic assistance on Saturday. As the package was stalled for six months in Congress, Kyiv’s military has grappled with an ever-more acute shortage of ammunition and manpower, while Kremlin forces press their advantage."
Details: Bloomberg cites Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv, stating that this aid will allow Ukrainian soldiers to rest a little and help them slow down the Kremlin's advance, conduct "effective defence," and minimise losses. However, according to the expert, greater assistance is needed to advance further.
Quote from Bielieskov: "The question is whether there will be aid and in what volume in 2025 and beyond – as Putin’s strategy is to wait it out".
Details: Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that US aid will provide an opportunity "to stabilise the situation (at the frontline – ed.) and to overtake the initiative."
The bill is expected to reach President Joe Biden's desk this week after the Senate considers it on 23 April.
Last week, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder stated that the US Defense Department could "very quickly" begin supplying weapons to Ukraine once the aid arrives.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova stated that they had been working on the logistics of weapon delivery all this time.
"The Pentagon and our Defence Ministry didn’t stop working daily together at finding weapons, identifying them and such packages are being prepared," Markarova said.
It has also been reported that some equipment, likely including Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), could be delivered by the end of the week. However, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War believe that even if American aid arrives quickly, it "will not begin to affect the situation on the front line for several weeks" due to transport logistics.
"The frontline situation will therefore likely continue to deteriorate in that time, particularly if Russian forces increase their attacks to take advantage of the limited window before the arrival of new US aid," the analysts said.
Background:
- On 20 April, the US House of Representatives approved the bill to provide Ukraine with US$61 billion in military aid.
- US President Joe Biden called on the Senate to quickly vote on the bill and "to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law, and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs."
- Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic majority in the US Senate, said that the Senate would vote on the bill on Tuesday, 23 April.
- The Washington Post said that the Pentagon would need less than a week after all the procedures for adopting the relevant legislation are completed to deliver some of the weapons to Ukrainian units.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it was important to fill the US aid package with what Ukraine needed most – artillery, strategic long-range weapons, ATACMS, air defence, etc.
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