NATO defense ministers met in Brussels on February 15 to discuss continued military aid for war-wracked Ukraine as Kyiv's forces, exhausted and lacking sufficient ammunition and heavy weapons, face an increasingly aggressive Russian assault in the east while civilians across Ukraine are being pounded relentlessly by Moscow's missiles and drones.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Ahead of the talks, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed hope the United States will continue to support Ukraine as a $95.34 billion military aid package that includes $61 billion for Kyiv and was approved by the U.S. Senate still has to clear the hurdle of a vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Depleted Ukrainian forces say they are conserving dwindling ammunition stocks as they struggle to stave off Russia's increasingly intense attacks on the battlefield and missile and drone strikes on civilians and infrastructure.
"We see the impact already of the fact that the U.S. has not been able to make a decision, but I expect the U.S. to be able to make a decision, that the Congress and the House of Representatives will agree continued support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg told journalists.
The bill passed the U.S. Senate on February 13 but has not yet been taken up by the House of Representatives.
If adopted, it would allow the immediate restart of shipments of weapons and ammunition for Ukrainian forces that have been suspended since December.
However, it remains unclear when or if the House will take up the funding to restart regular shipments.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who criticized the package even before the vote in the Senate because it lacks provisions to stem a record flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, has indicated that it could be weeks or months.
“The Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign aid bill,” Johnson said late on February 14 after a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans -- many of whom are aligned with former President Donald Trump, the expected candidate for the party in November's presidential election. He reiterated that the aid package must also include border-protection measures.
Johnson has gone on the record as saying he personally supports aid for Ukraine, but the far-right wing of the Republican House caucus is more closely allied with Trump's isolationist ideology.
As NATO discussed more support for Ukraine and increases in the military spending of the bloc's 31 members countries, Ukraine's military deployed reinforcements to the embattled city of Avdiyivka in the east, where Russian forces have been mounting a monthslong assault that has become increasingly intense in recent days.
The Third Assault Brigade, one of Ukraine's most experienced infantry groups, said on February 15 that it had been sent to Avdiyivka.
"The Third Assault Brigade confirms that it was urgently redeployed to strengthen Ukrainian troops in the Avdiyivka area," the brigade said on Telegram.
"The situation in the city...is extremely critical.... The enemy's forces on our section have approximately seven brigades," the message said.
At the same time, military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said on February 15 that the Ukrainian military is withdrawing some troops from Avdiyivka to "more advantageous positions."