For the West, arming Ukraine is a race against time. As a full-scale Russian offensive in the Donbas begins to unfold, so the pace and scale of Western assistance increases.
Britain’s arrangement with Poland to get tanks to Ukraine mirrors a similar deal between Germany and Slovenia. And the United States has just offered another $800m worth of equipment – the third package of this size in just over a month.
It includes artillery pieces that are much more advanced than their Russian counterparts, together with staggering quantities of ammunition and radars capable of quickly identifying the source of incoming fire. And there are brand new drones, developed with Ukraine’s specific needs in mind.
The primary purpose of all this is to allow Ukraine to withstand Russia’s attacks and prevent Moscow from taking more territory. But Western officials insist that Vladimir Putin must not be seen to succeed. At some point, that’s going to mean enabling Ukraine to go on the offensive.
The battle for the Donbas will make or break everyone’s plans. If Russia succeeds, then officials warn it may turn its attention, once again, to the Black Sea port of Odesa, and perhaps even Kyiv.
But if it fails, then Vladimir Putin’s whole Ukraine project will be in jeopardy. It could be weeks, even months, before we know which way it will go.