Battle Ready How Might New US Aid Change The War?

After months of stalling, the US House of Representatives last weekend approved more than $61bn of military assistance to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia, as well as billions for other allies including Israel and Taiwan.

- Dan Sabbagh

What difference could more US weapons make to Ukraine?

Ukraine has been struggling against Russian aggression since US military aid essentially dried up at the end of last year, suffering from a serious shortage of artillery. Its military was forced to abandon the Donbas town of Avdiivka in February and is now under pressure in Chasiv Yar.

Moscow’s forces have been able to outshell Kyiv by a ratio of at least five to one, rising to 10 to one, meaning that Ukrainian artillery have been increasingly unable to prevent Russian forces from massing in advance of ground attacks. The shortages were so acute that some Ukrainian gunners reported flying smoke shells to scare the Russians.

Ukraine has been short of air and missile defences, exposing its civilians to increased danger. Russia switched to targeting Ukrainian power stations, knocking out two in the Kharkiv region in March and another south of Kyiv in April. Electricity is rationed to a few hours a day in Kharkiv, a city of 1.3 million people, and there is anxiety the power system may be unable to cope .