Our chief foreign editor, Rob Parsons,
is with me and Rob.
For Ukraine, it's something like 60 billion U.S.
dollars. Is it going to make a big difference,
do you think? On the battlefield,
it will certainly make a difference.
Whether it will be a ground change is another matter.
Ukraine certainly could have done with this.
But once they get the equipment in place,
it will allow them to steady the front line in
the battlefields for the last few months,
in large part because they haven't been getting these weapons.
The the the frontliners started to disintegrate in a few
places.
Disintegrate probably overstates it a little bit more like crumbling
at the edges.
We're seeing the town of Abdir Davdevka,
which the Ukrainians regarded as very important,
falling just a short while ago,
and now Chassevier and even more important town,
albeit a small town, but strategically important because if it's
taken,
it gives high ground to the Russians also coming under
threat.
With apparently 25,000 Russian troops already concentrated around it.
In other words, you know,
Ukraine is really fighting for its life in eastern Ukraine
at the moment.
It needs to hang on to these positions.
Getting that weaponry, as long as it comes fast,
will certainly make a difference.
And as you suggest, the delay in getting this bill
passed by the US Congress has already had an impact
on the battlefield.
It's had a huge impact on the battlefield.
We've seen that particularly in the last few weeks or
so with the uptick in the amount of.
Missiles. Cruise missiles, drones being sent by the Russians in
the direction of Ukrainian.
Ukrainians have had to make really critical decisions,
difficult decisions, about where to use their.
Power station to the South of Kiev in Kiev region
to supplies.
The whole region had seven missiles available in its Patriot
systems to shoot down Russian rockets.
On a day when eleven were sent,
4 rockets got through, completely destroyed it.
But they needed those missiles on the frontline.
So these decisions are being made all the time.
I suppose the good thing from the Ukrainian perspective at
the moment is although it may take a little bit
of time for these weapons to start getting through,
it does mean that the stockpiles that they have kept
for themselves as a precaution.
Other words, they've been limiting rationing their use of weaponry
over the last few months.
They can now start to use with greater abandoned because
they have the security of that weaponry coming through.
But, you know, the fact of the matter is that
over these last few months,
they have lost close on 600 square kilometres of territory
may not sound an awful lot,
but in morale terms for the Ukrainians,
it's been hard. Rob Parsons,
as always, thank you.