response. that might be more of the doe miss domestic weapon and putin is trying to threaten people and make a scare. we need to recognize the nuclear threat is very real and something biden is right to take concern about. let s turn to the battle for donbas. so far the ukrainians have really been able to hold their positions so far. there s a lot of folks wondering how long that can last. how long do you think it will last? what we re seeing from various reports i can put together, russia has started to take a number of smaller towns
stork that are helping ukrainians in need, a lot of volunteers out there that can help with the supply runs and getting more medical aid and help the u.s. government understand which units and brigades that we re talking to they re sending me lists of everything that they need because they re getting hammered on the front lines. there s ways to support this in some many more ways than the u.s. government is doing. a lot of options out there. neil: we did hear and i talked to a military-type on fox bus that said the battle for donbas could that alone could last through the end of the year. what do you think of that? i think it goes longer than that. this is the second phase of the offensive in eastern ukraine. the russian forces are regrouping. they re ramping up their attacks. i don t think they have fully gone all in. if they take donbas, they will
fear that ukrainian forces let the city fall, holding out in an iron and steel plant. today, russian special forces began storming buildings nearby. but, a russian victory is far from certain in ukraine. catherine byaruhanga, bbc news. president biden has pledged to send more artillery to ukraine, in what isjust the latest round of military assistance being given to the country. but it s notjust the machinery. yesterday, the pentagon confirmed that the us will start training ukrainian forces on how to use new equipment at facilities outside the country. john spencer, a retired major in the us army and now the chair of urban warfare studies, at the madison policy forum says the battle for donbas is actually like a new war. i think it ll be, actually, much worse. the conditions are more favourable to open warfare, so big formations spread
While capturing Mariupol would be a huge strategic prize for Russia, not a single Ukrainian soldier had laid down their weapons after an earlier ultimatum to surrender lapsed.
well, i think this is really the key question now. this is phase 2 for the russians. they re trying to put together forces and they have one more go of this. many of these units already quite exhausted. the ones fighting mariupol are questioned whether there will be much if they manage to suppress the final ukrainian resistance. they ve been exhausted and are out of ammunition. my thought is we have a couple of weeks where the russians will push and try to break through the ukrainian lines. what s your view about what happens after that? is the hustle for kyiv over? it depends on what happens to the battle for donbas. the russians are using their forces which is artillery and air power.