The impact of this American blockade was profound.
I had several conversations with diplomats and military officials in Washington DC and they all said the same thing: the situation for Ukraine it’s depressing, Russia has the upper hand and the prospects for Kiev, without more weapons, are bleak.
The Ukrainians have been running out of all types of weapons, even small arms – bullets for their soldiers’ rifles.
Before the Chamber of Deputies approved the $60.8 billion aid package on SaturdayIt has been more than 480 days since Congress last passed a bill allowing the shipment of American weapons to Ukraine.
There was a White House budget fraud earlier this year that freed up more money from an existing law and allowed more weapons to be shipped. But it wasn’t enough.
Analysts say Russia’s recent air strike successes are a consequence of a lack of Ukrainian air defense interceptors.
And on the front line, the imbalance of artillery and projectiles is growing every day. The calculation is that there is now a 10-1 advantage for Russia, as its own industrial base is working at full speed with weapons production close to its capacity.
Ukraine’s energy supply is also threatened as Russia bombs power plants. Current supply is said to have fallen to 12 gigawatts, far below the country’s needs.
The blockade in America also had an impact on Ukrainian morale. The impact on soldiers on the front line of reduced supplies is enormous.
Sources closely watching the front line tell me that it is not too late to change the situation, but only if an urgent and sustained injection of funding and weapons occurs now.
And realists admit that “changing the situation” no longer means a complete Ukrainian victory.
It is now widely accepted that all of this will likely end with a deal that would see the conflict frozen somewhere along the front line.
The unknown is where that front line will be at the point where a deal becomes possible.
The further west the line is, the more land Russia occupies.
Crucially too, the county is wider – north to south – in the middle, and so the further west the settlement line ends up being, the longer the border and the harder it will be for Ukraine to fortify and defend itself. in the coming years.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
