Photo: Chris McGrath / Getty Images
For: Real America News Updated 16 Apr 2022, 22: 18 pm EDT
The next phase of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine could begin in the next few days, according to two senior US defense officials quoted by NBC News.
The officials said that a US assessment is that the Russian military could begin moving some of its forces back into Ukraine as soon as this weekend or early next week.
Russian troops withdrew from the area around kyiv and northern Ukraine about two weeks ago, moving north towards Belarus and Russia.
At the time, US officials assessed that the Russians intended to regroup and then begin another invasion, targeting the Donbas region and southeastern Ukraine.
But now American officials believe that Russia can to return to Ukraine and start the offensive before all Russian troops are ready to fight again, said a senior defense official.
Ukrainians continue to use thousands of artillery rounds
Even as the Russian military has been preparing for the next phase of the invasion, Russia and Ukraine have continued to fight in the east and south.
During that time, the Ukrainian army has been spending several thousand artillery shells every day, the senior defense official said.
This week, the Biden administration announced that it would send 40,000 artillery shells and 18 howitzers of 155 mm to Ukraine.
Supply crates containing munitions and other explosive material bound for Ukraine are loaded at Dover Air Force Base in April 1200. pic.twitter.com/hN22rceBAS
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) April 16, 2022
But since the Ukrainian army uses thousands per day, those 40,000 shells will only last a little over a week, the official explained. Through their skill and will, Ukrainian fighters have adapted to Russian tactics in real time, he said. “They are skilled and brave fighters, and that cannot be taken away from them.”
US officials are working to convince the allies to send more artillery and ammunition to Ukraine so that they do not run out when the Russian offensive intensifies.
Russian troops are likely to try to encircle Ukrainian troops deployed along the border between Donbas and the rest of Ukraine in this upcoming offensive, a military move called double envelopment.
The Russian military relied heavily on long-range fire (cruise missiles, artillery range, airstrikes) in the first weeks of its assault on Ukraine, but the main weapons of this new offensive will likely be artillery and short-range missiles, according to a senior defense official.
Ukrainian Army The US does not have some artillery, but most of it is outdated, much of it is defective and some have been destroyed by the Russians.
The most New US artillery will be more durable than existing Ukrainian artillery, the official said, but the world needs to keep supplying ammunition to Ukraine so it can stay in the fight.
The Russians have already begun shaping operations in the southeast from Ukraine, preparing the area around Donbas for an upcoming Russian ground invasion, according to a senior defense official.
On Thursday, a senior defense official said that Russia began moving equipment into western Russia in preparation for the offensive, including helicopters that are now ready to be inserted into Ukraine.
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