Reuters: US officials advise Ukraine to hold back on offensive until training for new weapons is complete

Ukraine should hold off on launching a major offensive against Russia until the country receives new weapons and is capable of operating them, according to an undisclosed senior official quoted by Reuters on Jan. 20.

Earlier in the day, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced $2.5 billion in military aid for Ukraine in one of its largest packages yet.

The latest package includes 59 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 90 Strykers armored vehicles, 53 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPS), eight Avenger air defense systems, high-speed anti-radiation missiles, and artillery rounds, among other equipment, the Pentagon said.

Also, the U.S. will send to Ukraine additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS).

On Jan. 20, defense ministers from some 50 countries met at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss further support for Ukraine.

This is the eighth Ramstein summit since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark A. Milley said on Jan. 20 at the Ramstein-8 summit that Russia’s full-scale war will likely “end in a negotiation” and not on the battlefield.

“From a military standpoint, I still maintain that for this year it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from every inch of Russian-occupied Ukraine,” he said, as quoted by CNN.