The US is considering sending additional military advisers to its embassy in Kiev, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told Politico magazine on Saturday.
The troops would serve in non-combat roles, primarily supporting logistics, monitoring deliveries of US weapons, which Washington admits it often cannot trace once they arrive in Ukraine, and assisting with their maintenance.
The news comes as the US House of Representatives passed a $61 billion aid bill on Saturday, with the Pentagon saying the package will include “things like air defense and artillery capabilities.”
Although Ryder did not specify how many advisers would be sent to Kiev, citing “operational security and force protection reasons,” sources familiar with the matter told Politico that the number could be up to 60.
The additional advisers could work at the Office of Defense Cooperation at the embassy, Ryder explained.
Ukraine is struggling to regain the initiative on the battlefield in the wake of a failed counteroffensive last summer, as well as more recent losses exacerbated by a dwindling supply of foreign ammunition.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently admitted that “things on the battlefield begin to shift a bit in Russia’s favor,” with Kiev’s forces struggling “in terms of holding the line.” According to Politico, the advisers would be tasked with helping the Ukrainians with newly delivered equipment as the fighting is expected to intensify during the summer.
Although President Joe Biden promised that American troops will not be sent to fight Russia in Ukraine, Moscow has warned that it considers the US and other NATO members de facto participants in the conflict. Russia has also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron and other European politicians who have said they cannot rule out deploying troops to Ukraine in the future.
Russia maintains that no amount of foreign aid will change the course of the conflict or save Ukraine from defeat.