US military sliding toward battling Russia in Ukraine with arms, Intel, training

The US military aid to Ukraine has skyrocketed to billions of dollars worth of newly developed drones, helicopters, armored vehicles and artillery amid reports that US intelligence had helped Kiev forces sink a Russian warship and kill Russian generals on the battlefield.

The ballooning of the American assistance to Kiev and involvement in the Ukraine conflict mark “the latest signs of what appears to be the Pentagon’s slow, steady march to deeper involvement in the European war,” the US-based Military.com news outlet reported Friday

According to the report, “the Pentagon has now moved to releasing itemized lists of the thousands of weapons, ammunition and hardware now being shipped to allies in Kiev.”

It has also announced a new Florida National Guard mission to train Ukrainians on the howitzers and radar systems in Germany, in a move to establish “a rotating pipeline of skilled troops to fight the Russians.”

The report further claimed that the use of US intelligence in the alleged sinking of Russian battleship Moskva by Ukrainian missiles and the loss of nearly a dozen Russian generals in the Ukraine conflict “was not publicly acknowledged by the Pentagon, despite reports by multiple news outlets.”

US intelligence helping Ukraine kill Russian generals: NYT

The United States has provided intelligence about Russian units that has helped Ukrainian forces kill many of the Russian generals in the Ukraine war, according to the New York Times.

Yet, it was met with Pentagon’s acknowledgment that the US 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 declared on Friday. "But ultimately, they make the decision about what they're going to do with that information."

Russia, however, has insisted that Moskva was not struck by a missile but sunk after an explosion within the warship.

The US military's involvement in the Ukraine war has "absolutely" increased since its outset, the report further emphasized, citing Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Washington-based think tank, The Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The next step in US involvement is likely to be the addition of military contractors inside Ukraine to maintain the influx of American weapons systems, which are flooding into Ukraine and may risk being sidelined without proper handling and care, Cancian also underlined.

He also pointed out that although US President Joe Biden has insisted that American troops will not enter Ukraine, the administration could find a workaround by funding Ukrainian maintenance contracts with foreign companies.

"All the equipment that we're giving to the Ukrainians is just too extensive to be absorbed in the short amount of time that we're giving them," Cancian further stressed. "I think we're just asking too much, frankly, and I think what's going to happen is that, when that becomes apparent, we'll start using contractors in some way."

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. 

The changing US involvement in the Ukraine conflict is partly due to the changing nature of the war, which began on February 24, when Ukrainians were widely considered as underdogs, but after Russian forces failed in their attempt to conquer Kiev, the US and its Western allies became bolder in extending more military assistance to Ukraine.

Russia accuses US of direct involvement in Ukraine war

The US and its Western allies have stepped up military support for Ukraine, sending a wide array of defensive weapons.

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

The US military has been authorized to ship nearly $4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war, with the bulk of that coming over the past month.

Last month, Biden ordered the shipment to Ukraine of the first 18 of the M777 howitzers and 40,000 rounds. 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.

Another 72 howitzers and 144,000 rounds, as well as vehicles to tow the cannons, were authorized by Biden on April 21 -- a massive increase from the first tranche, according to the report.

Biden is now calling on Congress to approve yet another $33 billion aid package for Ukraine, with $16 billion of that directed to the Pentagon.

The White House announced on Friday still another aid package of "artillery munitions, radars, and other equipment" for Kiev amounting to $100 million.

Russia: West’s flow of arms to Ukraine impedes ‘quick’ end to war

Moscow says the current flow of arms by the West to Kiev impedes a "quick" end to war in Ukraine.

In addition to the massive uptick in weapons headed to Ukraine, the Pentagon further declared that US troops would start training the Ukrainians on the equipment. A Florida National Guard unit recently pulled from Ukraine in the lead-up to Russia's military operation in the country had never left the continent and is now heading up that mission, it announced last week.

The 160 Guard troops assigned to the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as Florida's "Gator Brigade," are training the Ukrainians on the M777 howitzers and radar systems in Grafenwoehr, Germany, and other sites in Europe that the Pentagon did not unveil. 

So far, the report added, the Guard has trained 150 Ukrainians on the howitzers. Another 15 have completed training on AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel air surveillance radar system, and 60 on the M113 armored personnel carriers, Kirby also announced on Friday, noting that yet another 50 are in training on the M113 now.

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