NATO and the US are revving up for a long-term war in Ukraine as ministers from within a group of 50 countries expressed a collective resolve to continue support to Ukraine in the form of weapons, technology and ammunition. Following the fourth “Ukraine Defense Contact Group” meeting held virtually, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was clear that international consensus regarding support to Ukraine remained as strong as ever, as the war continues to evolve into a high-casualty, protracted fight.
Austin explained that this means that the US and its allies will not only fast-track urgently needed weapons in the short term but will also focus upon sustainment and necessary long-term planning to maintain the effort.
“We’re not working just to provide security assistance in the short term. One key theme of today’s discussion was ensuring that Ukraine can sustain the fight to defend itself and its citizens. So we’re even more focused on Ukraine’s near-term needs — as we’re even more focused on Ukraine’s near-term needs, “We’re also looking ahead to provide Ukraine with the capabilities that it will need for deterrence and self-defense over the longer term,” Austin said.
Following the deliberate Russian shift to the Eastern Donbas region in April, fighting has been both intense and protracted, with advances measured in “literally hundreds of meters.” Describing the ongoing fighting as a “high cost war or attrition” and “artillery fight,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley described small Russian gains as very costly and moving very slow
“So for 90 days, the Russian advances have amounted to maybe six to 10 miles, something of that range. It’s not very much. It’s very intense, a lot of violence, tens of thousands of artillery rounds every 24-hour period, lots of casualties on both sides, lots of destruction of — of villages and — and — and so on. But in terms of actual ground gain, very, very little by the Russians, relative to all of Ukraine,” Milley said. “The Ukrainians are making the Russians pay for every inch of territory that they gain.”
