But the official said the Pentagon believed that with the right weapons and a continuation of high morale and motivation, the Ukrainian forces might not only stop the Russian advance, but also push it back.
“The Russians are in a weakened state from which they may well be able to recover given enough time and new conscripts,” said Evelyn N. Farkas, the top Pentagon policy official for Russia and Ukraine during the Obama administration, when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula. “Therefore, it is paramount to strike at them now with everything we can give the Ukrainians.”
Current and former U.S. military commanders with experience in Ukraine and Europe agreed.
“It is make or break for Ukraine in that they must stop the Russian advance to seize all of the Donbas,” Maj. Gen. Michael S. Repass, a retired former commander of U.S. Special Operations forces in Europe who has been involved with Ukrainian defense matters since 2016, wrote in an email.
If Mr. Putin succeeds in seizing the east and establishes a land corridor to Crimea, General Repass said that Moscow would have a stronger position in any negotiated settlement.
“In another month, I anticipate exhaustion on both sides without a military decision/outcome either way,” General Repass wrote. “A stalemate means Putin wins, and if Putin ‘wins’ we are in for a rough ride.”
To try to prevent such an outcome, current and former American commanders say Ukraine’s army will seek to disrupt Russia’s military buildup around the eastern city of Izium and other important staging areas with long-range artillery and armed drone attacks.
Russia-Ukraine War: Key Developments
Card 1 of 4A new phase of the war. Russia’s fight to gain control over Ukraine’s industrial heartland in the east is underway. Both sides are trading artillery barrages as Russia tries to break through Ukraine’s defensive positions in multiple locations.
A new missile test. Russia test-launched a new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, declaring it a pointed warning to Ukraine’s Western allies. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the missile could carry multiple nuclear warheads, though it is not clear whether it possesses game-changing capabilities.
Under continued siege. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called off an assault on a steel plant that has become Ukraine’s last foothold in the port city of Mariupol, ordering Russian forces to blockade it instead, as he tries to claim a victory in one of the war’s bloodiest locations.
Sending military aid to Ukraine. Ukraine’s allies are scrambling to deliver more advanced weapons for the battle in the east. President Biden said that the United States would send an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine including heavy artillery, dozens of long-range weapons, drones and ammunition.
“It is also about disrupting the Russians while they are still in reconstitution and preparation mode, before they can really get back up on their feet,” said Lt. Gen. Frederick B. Hodges, a former top U.S. Army commander in Europe who is now with the Center for European Policy Analysis.