The battle for Donbas: Why the weapons the U.S. is rushing to Ukraine are so critical.
Plus, the Biden administration says it will appeal the federal judge's ruling that struck down the national mask mandate for airplanes and mass transit.in the eastern part of the country, the U.S. is rushing to send weapons and equipment needed to hold off the larger invading force in the rural and open Donbas terrain -- a far different battlefield from the urban fighting where Ukrainian forces held an advantage.
Although Russia and Ukraine have been battling over Donbas for eight years, Russia's concentrated flow of troops and weapons into the region could bring"a whole different level of fighting," Kirby said Tuesday. Early on, Russian invaders in the north were beset by supply problems, running out of food for troops and fuel for vehicles, failing to achieve any major victories. Pentagon officials believe they did not expect such strong resistance from Ukrainians so didn't adequately prepare for a prolonged fight.
The U.S. has sent Ukraine $3.4 billion of aid since the beginning of the invasion, including many thousands of shoulder-fired missiles, small arms and ammunition, body armor, and medical supplies. The two most recent packages, dedicating $800 million of aid each, announced April 13the and 21st, were tailored to reflect the new battle space.
The U.S. took a similar approach with the small, explosive Switchblade drones, hundreds of which are headed to Ukraine. U.S. officials have said other systems being sent to Ukraine will also require a small period of training, likely to also take place outside of the country. Officials have declined to specify where such training could take place, citing operational security concerns.
Mulroy said an advantage of the Soviet-designed Mi-17 is that Ukrainian pilots already know how to fly them. "We just have to take every opportunity to increase production and improve the flow, because it is going to make a difference," he said.
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