Large-scale Ukrainian offensive unlikely in near term, says US official [Video]

WASHINGTON – New security assistance from the US and elsewhere will help Kyiv regain the initiative on the battlefield, but it will take time and a large-scale Ukrainian offensive is unlikely in the near term, a US official said on April 25.

The previous day, the Pentagon announced the deployment of a US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion) package featuring key air defence and artillery munitions to help Ukraine’s fight against invading Russian forces.

But the new assistance, part of a US$61 billion in authorised aid, came only after months of US political wrangling over continued aid for Ukraine, during which Kyiv’s forces ran short of ammunition and suffered battlefield setbacks.

“Ukrainian forces have been rationing their ammunition for quite some time, rationing their capabilities. So the Russian forces essentially have gained the initiative,” a senior US defence official told journalists on condition of anonymity.

Aid from the US and other countries “will …