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President Biden announced an additional $ 800 million in military aid to Ukraine on Thursday, with the initial part arriving over the weekend. The package, which represents a sharp increase in artillery shipments, includes weapons that meet Ukraine’s specific needs on the battlefield, which is moving to the Donbass region to the east.
The latest package includes 72,155 mm howitzers and tactical vehicles to pull them, along with 144,000 artillery shots. That’s a significant increase from the 18 howitzers in another delivery, also announced in April, and is enough to equip five battalions, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
According to some expert estimates, 144,000 rounds can last up to four weeks. “Howitzers are indeed equipment designed to help Ukrainians hold the line against impending Russian attacks,” said Samir Puri, a Singapore-based military analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The package also includes more than 120 tactical Phoenix Ghost drones – drones developed by the US Air Force “in response, in particular to Ukrainian requirements,” according to Kirby. Later in the day, he said the drones were in fact “designed for a set of requirements that are very similar” to the needs of Ukrainians for operations in Donbass.
“His main focus is attack,” he said.
In the battle for eastern Ukraine, frontline soldiers defend themselves against Russia
Phoenix Ghosts, designed by Aevex Aerospace, are similar to Switchblade drones, small and precise weapons full of explosives that are capable of hitting targets in a “kamikaze” manner. The Phoenix Ghost system will require minimal training for experienced drone operators, Kirby said. Washington announced in March that it would send 100 Switchblades to Kyiv.
Ukraine has prevented the Kremlin from taking the top prize – Kyiv, the capital – by adopting guerrilla tactics in the forests of the country’s north and west. But the open and flat lands to the east are much better suited to Russia’s ability to assemble large formations of tanks and armored vehicles.
Warmer weather in the coming weeks will also provide greater freedom of movement for the Kremlin’s armored formations. On Thursday, the British Ministry of Defense said that Moscow’s forces were advancing on Kramatorsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that is a constant target of Russian missile and rocket fire.
Phoenix ghosts can tackle some of these challenges by allowing Ukraine to strike at Russia’s advancing columns from afar, Puri said. “Ukrainian forces in retreat may remain in the battle from some distance… and still [present] a serious threat. “
Washington Post and National Security Pentagon reporter Karun Demirdjian explains the difficulties in deciding which weapons to send to Ukraine. (Video: Joshua Carroll / Washington Post)
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Kyiv has succeeded with other drones. The Ukrainian-made Turkish Bayraktar TB2, the size of a small aircraft and equipped with laser-guided missiles, has wreaked havoc on Russian tanks and trucks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously protested to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, over the transfer of these weapons to Ukraine.
The Phoenix Ghost is a tactical weapon designed to strike and would be useful against a number of targets, said a U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity under conditions determined by the Pentagon.
Such weapons are also light and portable, making them easy to transport from Ukraine’s NATO neighbors and from the country’s western side to the eastern front line, Puri said. In contrast, the supply of howitzers poses logistical challenges and a greater risk of Russian ban, he added.
Demirdjian reported from Washington and Cheng from Seoul. Liz Sly and Dan Lamot contributed to this report.
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