US promises Ukraine weapons for spring counter-offensive against Russia

A Ukrainian soldier injured by shrapnel on the front line of Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, arrived at a stabilization point on Wednesday.

Ukraine and Russia are both running low on ammunition, so they are scrambling to replenish their stocks and gain a competitive edge.

KYIV, Ukraine - The United States promised to give Ukraine the weapons necessary for a spring counter-offensive against Russia, addressing one of the most critical needs because of the global shortage of ammunition caused by the yearlong conflict. The production capacities of the West and Moscow have been strained because of the battles in Ukraine. Both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers complained that they don't have enough ammunition to keep pace with the fighting. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, speaking during a virtual meeting with defense officials from more than 50 countries supporting Kyiv, said the allies must provide Ukraine with the full capabilities for the fight ahead. He said that he's confident that we will continue to step up to meet Ukraine's needs into the spring and beyond.

Military analysts have said that the side that wins the race to rearm in the coming months will have an advantage on the battlefield in the next phases of the war because of the vast expenditure of ammunition by both armies on a daily basis. Russia has stepped up its efforts to put its economy on a wartime footing, even as President Vladimir V. Putin insists that his country is only engaged in a special military operation. This week, Mr. Putin visited an aviation production plant and announced that the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade had prepared a list of unspecified specialists who can defer military service.

Ukraine and Russia are trying to increase the ranks of their fighters in addition to their efforts to secure more ammunition and weapons. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are training abroad in NATO-style military tactics and how to use newly arriving Western equipment. The Ukrainian interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said Kyiv had also accepted 28,000 applications for new volunteer assault units that would strengthen the National Guard. He told reporters last week that almost all units had started training. Moscow, which has resisted announcing a second wave of mobilization, plans to start a spring recruitment drive in April, according to Russian news reports. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who visited Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, has renewed support for the Kremlin, which counts China among its steadfast allies and has moved to bolster its ties with other countries. In a meeting with Mr. Putin on Wednesday, he said that Moscow and Damascus were in constant contact with each other, and he said Russian troops had been playing in Syria since the Kremlin intervened in 2015 to prop up the Syrian government.