US and allies to send more big guns to Ukraine to blunt Russia’s eastern push
- Britain and Canada have promised more artillery, while German leader Scholz is looking into Soviet-era equipment
- Russia’s defence minister has accused Western nations of supplying its foe with weapons so that it continues fighting ‘until the last Ukrainian’
US President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new security assistance package for Ukraine in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a US official.
The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said details of the latest package are being finalised.
The news comes as Russia assaults cities and towns across its neighbour’s eastern industrial heartland in a new phase of the war after losing about 25 per cent of the combat power it sent into Ukraine, according to Pentagon estimates.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said “providing more ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine” was discussed by Biden and other allied leaders during a video call on Tuesday.
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Asked by reporters during a visit to New Hampshire if the US would be sending more artillery to Ukraine, Biden replied yes.
Last week, in anticipation of Russia’s eastern offensive, the president approved an US$800 million package including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The US has sent about US$2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russian invaded.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, one of the leaders on the video call, said his country would continue to enable weapons deliveries to Ukraine, with one possibility being systems from eastern European nations that would be easily and quickly usable.
Scholz has faced increasing pressure from within his own governing coalition and the main opposition party to deliver heavy weapons such as German Leopard tanks.
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But Scholz said Germany and its partners in the Group of Seven industrial nations have concluded it makes more sense to send in systems already used in Ukraine, such as the Soviet-era weapons some Nato partners still have.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau both promised more artillery was on the way.
In London, Johnson told lawmakers: “This will become an artillery conflict, they need support with more artillery, that is what we will be giving them … in addition to many other forms of support.”
Trudeau said there would be more details on the pledge in the days to come, and that Ukrainians have “fought like heroes”. Canada’s government has also hit 14 more Russians with sanctions for their close ties with President Vladimir Putin, including his two adult daughters.
On Tuesday, Russia’s defence minister accused the US and other Western nations of supplying Ukraine with weapons so that it continues fighting “until the last Ukrainian”.
Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with the top military brass that Washington and its allies are doing all they can to drag out Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
He noted that “the growing supplies of foreign weapons clearly signal their intention to provoke the Kyiv regime to keep fighting until the last Ukrainian”.
Shoigu said that the Russian military has “consistently implemented the plan to fully liberate the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics”.
Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking region eastern industrial heartland, Donbas, that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They have declared two independent republics that have been recognised by Russia.
Additional reporting by Reuters
