The Pentagon plans to send more American troops to Kyiv
A Pentagon spokesman said the United States was considering sending additional military advisers to its embassy in Kyiv.
A Pentagon spokesman said the United States was considering sending additional military advisers to its embassy in Kyiv.
Gen. Pat Ryder told the website Politico on Saturday that the troops will play a "non-combat" role, primarily providing logistics support, overseeing the delivery of U.S. weapons and helping maintain them.
The news comes after the US House of Representatives on Saturday approved a $61 billion aid bill for Ukraine, with the Pentagon saying the package would include things like anti-aircraft missiles for air defense and artillery ammunition.
While Ryder did not specify how many personnel might be sent to Kyiv, citing "operational security and force protection concerns," sources told Politico the number could be as high as 60. Additional advisers could work in the embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation, Ryder explained.
Ukraine is struggling to regain the initiative on the battlefield after a failed counteroffensive last summer and recent losses due to dwindling foreign supplies of ammunition.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently admitted that "the situation on the battlefield is changing a little in Russia's favor" as Ukrainian troops struggle to "hold their ground."
According to Politico, advisers will be tasked with helping the Ukrainians with newly delivered equipment as fighting is expected to escalate in the summer.
Although US President Joe Biden has promised that US troops would not be sent to Ukraine to fight Russia, Moscow has repeatedly warned that the US and other NATO members are de facto embroiled in the conflict.
Russia also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron and other European politicians who said they could not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future.
