'Won't take long' NATO nation hands Ukraine £615m weapon cargo it hopes will destroy Putin
THE US has sent a further $800million (£615million) worth of weapons to Ukraine and plans to train Ukraine's troops on how to use them.
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Pentagon officials believe the training, which will take place outside the country, "won't take very long" as Ukraine's military already have experience using similar munitions.
A Department of Defense spokesman said it "won't take very long" to train Ukrainian military instructors on American-provided howitzer artillery systems.
John Kirby said the US is providing 155mm howitzers and 40,000 rounds, but already has experience with a 152mm variant.
The Pentagon confirmed the latest round of US military assistance began arriving in Ukraine over the weekend.
The $800million (£615million) worth of security assistance includes Howitzer artillery systems, 40,000 artillery rounds, armoured personnel vehicles and other weapons.
It also includes Switchblade drones, more Javelin anti-tank missiles, and armoured personnel carriers.
As many as five flights of shipments from the assistance package are believed to have arrived in the region.
In a press briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Mr Kirby said the Defense Department expects to start training Ukrainian trainers outside of Ukraine on how to use the US Howitzers in the coming days.
The Ukrainian trainers will then return to Ukraine and train more troops.
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In the meeting, he said: "They [Ukraine military] don't use American howitzers in artillery. They understand how to use artillery, and it won't - we don't believe will take very long or require much detailed training to get them up to speed on American howitzers. An artillery piece, so I've been told is not unlike other artillery pieces. The basic outlines of the system are the same".
Russia's forces have refocused on the Donbas region in the east of Ukraine after failing to capture Kyiv.
According to Mr Kirby, Russia is now conducting "staging operations," which involves "setting the conditions for more aggressive, more overt and larger ground manoeuvres" in the east.
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The fight in the region is expected to rely more on armoured vehicles and artillery systems than in other regions since the terrain in southeastern Ukraine is more flat and wide open.
Mr Kirby said: "The artillery is a specific item the Ukrainians asked for because of the specific fighting they expect is going to occur in the Donbas.
"And we know the Russians also believe the same thing because we see them moving artillery units into the Donbas as well."