Top U.S. general says Kyiv faces difficult odds without more aid
Russian military outgunning its foe as congressional legislation languishes
The top general for U.S. forces in Europe told Congress Wednesday that Ukraine will be outgunned 10 to one by Russia within a matter of weeks if Congress does not find a way to approve sending more ammunition and weapons to Kyiv soon.
The testimony from army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command, and Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, comes as Congress enters pivotal weeks for voting for aid for Ukraine, but there’s no guarantee funding will be improved in time.
Ukraine has been rationing its munitions as Congress has delayed passing its $60-billion (U.S.) supplemental bill.
“They are now being outshot by the Russian side five to one. So the Russians fire five times as many artillery shells at the Ukrainians than the Ukrainians are able to fire back. That will immediately go to 10 to one in a matter of weeks,” Cavoli said. “We’re not talking about months. We’re not talking hypothetically.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has been trying to find a way forward for the bill that would fund new rounds of munitions production at U.S. firms to enable the Pentagon to then rush more munitions to Ukraine.
Johnson is trying to bring it to the floor for a House vote, but he is facing concerns from members who cite domestic needs, including border security.
The speaker is also facing a threat to his leadership role from his farright flank by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has called for his ouster over the issue.
While the political battles on Capitol Hill continue, the dire battlefield situation in Ukraine worsens.
Cavoli told the lawmakers that, in this conflict, the U.S. flow of 155 mm artillery shells has been a lifeline. “The biggest killer on the battlefield is artillery. In most conflicts, but in this one definitely. And, should Ukraine run out, they would run out because we stopped supplying — because we supply the lion’s share of that,” Cavoli said.
Russia’s own production of missiles has ramped up and can launch large-scale attacks every few days. If Ukraine’s air defence stocks run out, “those attacks would absolutely cripple the economy, and the civil society as well as the military of Ukraine if they were not defended against without a U.S. provision of interceptors,” Cavoli said.