Time - USA (2022-04-11)

33

his aides. Their government did little

to prepare. Ukraine did not call up re-

servists, warn civilians, stockpile food,

or move weapons into position. That

made the supply lines from Poland

even more critical once the invasion

began on Feb. 24.

In his declaration of war early that

morning, Putin warned that any coun-

try interfering in the invasion would

face a Russian response “unlike any

you have seen in your history.” Many

analysts took this as a threat of nuclear

targets.” Such threats did not stop the

U.S. from rushing aid across the bor-

der. In the irst three weeks of the in-

vasion, President Biden approved

$1 billion worth of military hardware

for Ukraine, including ive attack he-

licopters, 100 combat drones, thou-

sands of anti tank and anti aircraft mis-

siles, and around 60 million rounds of

ammunition.

U.S. troops from the 82nd Airborne

have been deployed to eastern Poland,

in part to ensure that Russia thinks

△

A convoy of unmarked trucks

carrying supplies for Ukraine

passes through Korczowa,

Poland, on March 17

escalation. A senior Russian diplomat
later made the warning more explicit.
“By pumping Ukraine with weapons,”
said the diplomat, Sergei Ryabkov,
the U.S. is making “not just a danger-
ous move, but an action that turns the
PREVIOUS PAGES: EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK; ANGEL GARCIA—BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES corresponding convoys into legitimate