The US Military's Slow Slide Toward Confrontation with Russia over Ukraine

In early March, defense officials avoided even confirming the first Stinger missiles were being sent to Ukraine amid concerns of escalating the conflict as Russian troops marched toward Kyiv, and defense analysts counted the days until Russian President Vladimir Putin would likely control the government of his next-door neighbor.

But over the last two months, as Ukraine has made a stand and fought back against the invasion, the aid has ballooned to billions of dollars' worth of helicopters, armored vehicles, newly developed drones and artillery.

Reports this week that U.S. intelligence had helped Ukraine sink a Russian warship and kill Russian generals on the battlefield were the latest signs of what appears to be the Pentagon's slow, steady march to deeper involvement in the European war.

The Pentagon has now moved to releasing itemized lists of the thousands of weapons, ammunition and hardware now being shipped to allies in Kyiv. It has also announced a new Florida National Guard mission to train Ukrainians on the howitzers and radar systems in Germany, creating a rotating pipeline of skilled troops to fight the Russians.

The use of U.S. intel in the sinking of the ship Moskva by Ukrainian missiles and Russia's stunning loss of about a dozen generals in the war was not publicly acknowledged by the Pentagon, despite reports by multiple news outlets. Still, it was met with an acknowledgment that the military is sharing vital battlefield intelligence with Ukraine.

"We try to provide them useful and relevant, timely intelligence so that they can better defend themselves," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday. "But ultimately, they make the decision about what they're going to do with that information."

The loss of the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, and the loss of generals have been an international embarrassment for Moscow, if not strategic victories that have shifted momentum to Ukraine.

The changing U.S. involvement is at least partly due to the changing nature of the war, which began Feb. 24 when Putin invaded Ukraine. Early in the conflict, the Ukrainians were seen as underdogs, but Putin's forces floundered, and the U.S. and the West became bolder in their assistance to Kyiv.

The war has now shifted to the eastern Donbas, a flat region where artillery will play a key role in the fight as it stretches into its third month. Ukrainian requests for armor and larger weapons have been granted.

The Pentagon has been authorized to send about $4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war, with the bulk of that coming over the past month. In mid-April, President Joe Biden ordered the first 18 of the M777 howitzers and 40,000 rounds be sent to Ukraine. The announcement detailed 1,400 Stinger and 5,500 Javelin shoulder-fired missiles, as well as 22 other categories of weapons and battlefield supplies, including armored personnel carriers, helicopters, radars and drones.

Read the Complete Article at: Military-Com -- https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/05/06/training-weapons-intel-us-militarys-slow-slide-toward-confrontation-russia-over-ukraine.html



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