The United States sent more artillery to Kiev and will train Ukrainian forces in the use of howitzers

The US military expects to begin training Ukrainians in the use of howitzer artillery in the coming days, a senior US Defense official said Monday.

Last week, US President Joe Biden announced additional $800 million military aid to Ukraine, including heavy artillery ahead of the wider Russian assault expected in eastern Ukraine.

So far, the United States has sent four flights with weapons as part of the new package.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that training with howitzers will take place outside Ukraine.

The United States plans to teach Ukrainian instructors how to use some of the new batches of weapons, such as howitzers and radars, and then have instructors teach their colleagues inside Ukraine. Washington has already trained Ukrainian forces in the use of Switchblade drones.

“Artillery is a specific item that Ukrainians have asked for because of the fighting they expect to take place in the Donbas,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told the press on Monday. “The land lends itself to the use of artillery, to long-range fires as we call it. And we know that the Russians also believe the same thing, because we are seeing that they also move artillery units to the Donbas. So we want to give Ukrainians all the advantage we can,” he explained.

The Pentagon expects Ukrainian instructors to quickly learn how to use American artillery pieces, Kirby said.

“Ukrainians usually use 152 mm. It's a different caliber, but it doesn't mean it's going to be too laborious to bring them up to speed on this. And I think, again, that we will be able to do this training, at least the first round, in the next few days,” he said.

Ukraine said a Russian missile strike killed seven people in Lviv on Monday, the first civilian casualties in the western city, and the commander of the Ukrainian forces resisting in the devastated port of Mariupol, in the southeast of the country, asked Pope Francis for help.

The US Defense official stated that it appears that Russia is targeting military targets in Lviv and in the capital, Kiev, in the north. Mariupol is also still in dispute and Moscow seems to have sent reinforcements to Ukraine in recent days, he added.

“Our assessment is that Mariupol is still in dispute (...) It continues to be threatened from the air, both by missile attacks and by aerial bombs, and even, of course, by artillery,” the official said.

(With information from Reuters)

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