With the aid battle won in Washington, we must help Ukraine win the war’s next phase 

After more than 480 days, Congress has finally given the green light to much-needed aid to Ukraine. After months of uncertainty, you can almost hear a collective sigh of relief from Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines. Now that the political battle in Washington has been won, it is time to focus on the strategic battle taking place in Eastern Europe.

The war has had its ups and downs for both sides since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia’s rapid advance early in the war was partially reversed by Ukraine in late 2022. Expectations were high for a Ukrainian counterattack in 2023, but the counterattack fell short. At sea, there were unexpected successes for Ukraine. destroyed almost a third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Meanwhile, Russia had made small but tactically important advances on the front.

Despite the difficulties Ukraine faced in fighting back last year, that was no excuse to cut off aid. On the contrary, it meant that we needed to learn from our mistakes, continue arms distribution and training, and redouble our efforts to prepare Ukraine for the next phase of the war.

With a fresh injection of funding, that next phase begins now.

There are four things the United States must do immediately to help Ukraine change the dynamics of the conflict and take the war to a new stage.

The top priority will be to expedite the transportation of weapons and ammunition needed to stabilize the front lines. Months of delays from Congress have hurt Ukraine’s fighting positions. Not only are Ukrainians running out of shells, but on a recent visit to Ukraine, I learned that soldiers are also rationing rifle ammunition. This is unacceptable and needs to be corrected immediately.

Ukrainians also need help securing their skies. Simply put, this means an increase in air defense systems. Ukraine lacks interceptor missiles It was used to shoot down Russian missiles and Iranian drones. Moreover, Ukraine has only been given enough air defense assets to protect major cities such as Kiev and Odessa. This leaves millions of Ukrainians living in the country’s other major cities vulnerable to indiscriminate Russian airstrikes.

Front-line Ukrainian forces also lack adequate protection from the air. This was one of the main reasons why Ukraine’s counterattack stalled last summer. It makes no sense for Western countries to keep their latest air defense systems in warehouses thousands of miles from where they are desperately needed.

It is also time to give Kiev the weapons it needs to strike deep into Russian-occupied Ukraine, such as Crimea. Russian ports and air bases should not be off-limits. Additionally, the White House needs to stop being nervous about Ukraine attacking targets within the Russian Federation that directly support Russia’s war machine. Specifically, Ukraine urgently needs a significant number of long-range weapons, including the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has a range of 290 miles.

Another important point that is often overlooked is the need to expand the basic training of the Ukrainian military.The Ukrainian government recently passed a law Lowering the conscription age from 27 to 25. This could lead to the long-awaited creation of a larger Ukrainian army. Under existing programs, only tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are trained each year at facilities across Europe. This may seem like a lot, but it’s not enough. The United States needs to lead the effort to significantly expand training. Hundreds of thousands of new Ukrainian soldiers will likely need basic training in the coming years. Larger training missions should be achievable among NATO’s 32 member states.

Ukraine is fighting a war for its survival. Russia has shown no interest in peace negotiations. Aid to Ukraine is not charity. Russia is one of the United States’ greatest geopolitical adversaries. The weaker Russia becomes on the world stage, the stronger America becomes. As House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) recently stated, Russia is working with Iran and China against U.S. interests. North Korea and Hamas would also be added to that list.

Europe’s significant contribution, along with additional US aid, gives Ukraine new hope in the war. The ultimate goal is to create conditions in 2024 for Ukraine to launch another major counterattack in early 2025. With the right policies, this is possible.

We must not just hope that Russia loses the war, we must hope that Ukraine wins this war.

Now is the time to be bold.

Luke Coffey I am a senior research fellow at the Hudson Institute.