Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced it was providing $350 million in lethal aid for Ukraine's defense against Russian invaders, much of which according to Pentagon officials has been delivered.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks), who serves as the ranking Republican on the House Armed Service Committee, says Ukrainian Army personnel are trained on how to use the military assistance the United States is providing.
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Rogers explained how Americans had trained Ukrainians since Russia staged its 2014 takeover of the Crimean peninsula.
"We've been over there eight years," he said. "I've spent a lot of time over there in my six years as chairman of the Strategic Forces subcommittee. We have a lot of missile defense in Eastern Europe. And because we have had troops there training, every time I go to Eastern Europe, I've stopped in Ukraine.
"One of the reasons they've been able to fight as effectively as they've been fighting is we've been over there for eight years training them," Rogers continued. "The military they had back in 2014 was a shadow of what they have now. And absolutely -- they know how to use the Javelins and the Stingers and the stuff they're asking for."
According to Rogers, the American assistance was not sent directly to Ukraine, but to a border ally and the Ukrainians would bring those weapons across their own border to use in combat.
"Now, if we had an extra Patriot system that we could send over there for air defense, they wouldn't know how to operate it," Rogers added. "But yeah -- the stuff that we're sending and the stuff that they're asking for -- they absolutely know how to operate it. We just need to get it to them, and fortunately, the stuff that is going that the Germans and the Finns and the others in NATO sent in several days ago and that we're sending in now -- there's still open supply lines that can get into Kyiv and get into some of the eastern fighting areas. I don't know how much longer those supply lines from Poland are going to stay open.
"But you know, right now when we've sent whether it is the Baltic states stuff or Germany or France or whoever, or the U.S. -- it is going to Poland or Romania," he continued. "And the supply lines are going from Poland into the country. But I wouldn't be surprised to see us to have three or four different points of contact where the Ukrainians are coming out to either the Polish border or Romanian border, picking up the stuff and driving it back in. But no one will go into Ukraine with this stuff because that will be seen as an act of war by Russia, and they may start attacking whoever does make that delivery."
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