Congress finally advanced aid to Ukraine, but is it too little, too late?

This was massively needed, but it’s not a silver bullet,” added Nicholas Lokker, a research associate for the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.

Lokker explained that 2024 had been widely expected to be a tough year for Ukraine, but that the setbacks on the battlefield — which the delay in aid helped cause — pose considerable obstacles for Ukraine.

On top of that is the US’s own shortcoming in producing critical munitions needed for protracted ground warfare due to industrial decay.

Russia is also widely expected to embark on a massive counteroffensive within the coming weeks. Lokker is hopeful that the batch of aid will help Ukraine survive until next year, by which point munition production may ramp up considerably.

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Some critics of the replenished aid package have contended that Ukraine can’t win.

“There’s not a clear consensus on the definition of victory,” Lokker said, noting that he feels the chances of Ukraine winning certainly increased now that Ukraine aid cleared the lower chamber.

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“The US and the West need to see Ukraine as the first line of defense,” Lokker stressed.

He ominously predicted that if Russia wins, it could become emboldened to pursue additional territory after Ukraine, a scenario that many Western leaders fear.

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