We will soon find out who gave Ukrainians fighter aircraft
This bit of news from the Washington Post leaves me asking questions (emphasis mine):
President Biden approved a new $800 million aid package last week that dramatically expanded the scope of weapons Washington has supplied to Kyiv. The package included 155 mm howitzers — a serious upgrade in long-range artillery to match Russian systems — 40,000 artillery rounds and 11 Soviet-designed Mi-17 helicopters.
The latter fit well with Ukraine’s existing arsenal because those use a similar operating system as the Mi-8 helicopters that Kyiv has used for decades, said Alexey Muraviev, a national security expert at Australia’s Curtin University.
“We do the best we can with each package to tailor it to the need at the time, and now the need has changed,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday. “The war has changed, because now the Russians have prioritized the Donbas area, and that’s a whole different level of fighting, a whole different type of fighting.”
Ukraine has also received fighter aircraft and related parts from other nations, Kirby said. He declined to specify what kind of aircraft has been supplied or which countries have provided them.
We are sure to find out in due course which country(s) supplied which specific aircraft. In the meantime, David Ignatius outlines Russia’s apparent strategy for conquering the Donbas region. Ancient stuff. Classic. The problem is they are fighting Ukrainians on their own turf:
The Russians have every advantage in this fight but one: It’s not their land. Ukrainians have shown that they can mount a courageous and disciplined defense against a numerically stronger Russian force, as they did in repelling Russian attacks against the capital of Kyiv last month.
Hoping to reverse Russia’s poor showing in Round 1, President Vladimir Putin and his generals are reverting to the traditional Russian tactic of concentrating immense firepower in a limited theater of battle, and then pounding the enemy. This approach will be easier in the East, where the flat ground will enable the advancing army, and Ukrainian hit-and-run tactics are more difficult to execute.
U.S. commanders believe Russia has gathered 70 to 80 combat battalions around this eastern front to attempt what military strategists describe as a “double encirclement” of Ukrainian forces. This tactic has been used by victorious armies for centuries, ever since Hannibal famously encircled the Roman army at Cannae in 216 B.C.
So long as western allies can keep the arms flowing, Ukraine seems committed to grind the Russians as much as the Russians grind them. The problem for Russia is running out of missiles and advanced munitions that require parts supplies now embargoed.
Plus they are fighting Ukrainians.
Perhaps Joe Biden could arrange to import a few Ukrainians. Democrats don’t have the same stomach for fighting.
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