Ukraine will face a difficult period in May and June, the head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with the Ukrainian section of the BBC, quoted by Ukrinform.
“Our estimates show that we will face a rather difficult situation in the near future. But we must know that it will not be catastrophic. There will be no Armageddon, as many people are trying to claim. But there will be problems after mid-May he pointed out.
Asked about the situation at the front, Budanov replied: “I am talking about the front as well. This is a complex approach, because the Russians will use a complex approach. They are conducting a complex operation. We will not talk about it for a long time, but there will be a difficult period. The middle of May, beginning of June”.
According to the head of military intelligence, the political situation in the country will also deteriorate.
As previously reported, the Institute for the Study of War predicts that in the coming weeks, Russian troops may step up offensive actions and missile and drone strikes pending the arrival of US military aid to Ukraine.
The US may send long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine by the end of April
The first deliveries of military aid to Ukraine as part of the $61 billion package could begin as early as this week. Among other things, the new tranche will include ATACMS missiles capable of hitting targets up to 300 km away, US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner told CBS.
“I hope as soon as [законопроектът на Камарата на представителите] reaches the president on Tuesday or Wednesday, the president will sign it and those weapons will be shipped by the end of the week,” he said.
Warner confirmed that the deliveries will begin with long-range ATACMS missiles, since the White House was ready to transfer them to Ukraine several months ago and this is provided for in the bill that is being passed.
The senator added that the US is helping Ukraine wage war with Russia by spending only 3% of its defense budget on it and not using its own military. “The Ukrainians exceeded all our expectations. In the last two years they destroyed 87% of the Russian ground forces that started the invasion, 63% of their tanks, 32% of their armored personnel carriers. Thanks to the courage of the Ukrainians and the weapons they received from us and our European allies, not one American soldier was killed,” Warner said.
On April 20, the US House of Representatives approved a bill to provide $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine, of which $14 billion will be used to directly purchase weapons for Ukraine’s armed forces. In addition, the House authorized the seizure of frozen Russian assets – gold and foreign reserves of the Central Bank worth $ 6 billion. The Senate will consider the bill on April 23. It will then be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US House of Representatives “for the decision that sends history in the right direction.” “Peace and security can only be achieved by force,” he stressed, adding that now the Ukrainian armed forces have a chance to “stabilize the situation and seize the initiative.”
The ATACMS is a tactical missile launched using the HIMARS and M270 MLRS multiple launch rocket systems. Its price is about 1.5 million dollars, and the firing range depends on the modifications. Last October, the Ukrainian army received a 165 km model and used it in the suburbs of occupied Berdyansk in the Zaporozhye region.
It is not yet known exactly how many ATACMS will be handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and with what scope. However, The Wall Street Journal sources reported in March that the Pentagon was ready to send missiles with a strike radius of up to 300 km to Ukraine to hit Crimea, as the United States could now use new precision strike missiles Precision Strike Missile (PrSM ). The White House had previously refused to transfer ATACMS, explaining that the US military needed them.
ATACMS with a range of up to 300 km are capable of reaching Russian cities such as Smolensk, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Uryupinsk, Volgodonsk and Krasnodar, RTVI estimated. At the same time, Kiev promised not to strike Russian territory with Western missiles. Zelensky said he would use ATACMS in response to attacks on energy infrastructure to attack military airfields and other targets in Crimea.
A delegation from the US Congress arrived in Kyiv as a show of support
A bipartisan delegation of the US Congress arrived in Kyiv as a sign of unwavering support for Ukraine, reads a message from the US Embassy in Ukraine on the X social network, as quoted by Ukrinform.
“The US Embassy in Kyiv is pleased today to welcome a bipartisan congressional delegation, consisting of Tom Keane, Bill Keating, Madeleine Dean and Nathaniel Moran. Your visit is yet another reminder that our commitment to Ukraine is unwavering,” the diplomats wrote.
