US aid to Ukraine: Pentagon describes war scenario without US assistance
Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh (Getty Images)
In the absence of US assistance totaling more than 60 billion euros, Ukraine must decide which territories its armed forces will prioritize based on available resources, according to Pentagon Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
"Look, if we don't get the funding needed from the House to pass the Senate supplemental, we will not be able to provide these critical PDA packages and Ukraine will have to make choices and decisions on what cities, what towns they can hold with what they have and what partners can continue to supply them," she said.
Singh believes that Avdiivka was a strategic withdrawal that Ukraine made to preserve its artillery and ammunition, although there are other cities under fire and under threat.
"I would direct you to the Ukrainians. I'm sure they're not going to give you their battle plans, but absolutely they're on the front lines, fighting every single day to hold every single inch of territory. But I can't speak to each specific city," she said, refusing to name populated areas that may be at risk after the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Avdiivka.
Senate blocking the bill on aid to Ukraine
On February 8, the US Senate blocked a bill to allocate funding to support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as American border security. According to the Senate vote results overnight on February 8, 49 legislators voted for the adoption of the initiative, and 50 were against. In total, 60 votes were needed to proceed with the legislative initiative.
Republicans have set conditions for Democrats to approve aid to Ukraine. It concerns border security. Just recently, a modified version of the aid package for Ukraine and Israel, as well as border security, was presented in the US House of Representatives, which was introduced last week.
Withdrawal of Ukrainian Armed Forces from Avdiivka
On the night of February 17, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi announced the decision to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka, which was under threat of encirclement by the enemy.
On February 18, spokesperson for the Joint Forces Operation Dmytro Likhovyi stated that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had completed the withdrawal of units from Avdiivka in the Donetsk region.
At the same time, on February 19, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are likely to create new defensive lines near Avdiivka, which will culminate in the Russian advance on this front of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
According to the New York Times, the Russians have continued their advance after the capture of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. Currently, the occupiers' offensive is divided into five main directions, and the situation is the most dangerous since the beginning of the war.
