Ukraine has deployed many of its new US M-777 howitzers at the front lines and Washington has delivered all but one of the 90 artillery pieces they were due to send, the US embassy in Kyiv said on Sunday.
The M-777 howitzer consignment is part of a huge outlay of weapons from Washington to help Ukraine fend off Russia's invasion, which began on Feb. 24. The M-777 is seen as particularly significant because of its long-range and accuracy.
The US embassy reposted a Ukrainian military video of Kyiv's soldiers training to use the weapons.
"M-777 Howitzers in action. Part of the United States' most recent $800 million care package for the Ukrainian Armed Forces," it tweeted.
"All but one of the 90 Howitzers sent by the United States are now in Ukraine, many now deployed on the front lines," it said.
Hundreds of Ukrainian military troops have finished training on new weapons provided by the US, a senior Pentagon official stated.
“Up from roughly 200 [trained personnel] one week ago,” the officer added, 310 troops were trained on US-made M777 howitzers.
Ukrainian soldiers began howitzer training at a German artillery school last week, where they will spend the next weeks learning how to operate the artillery weapons before they are shipped for active use to Ukraine, German media reported.
Training will last around 40 days and will take place at the German military's artillery school in Idar-Oberstein in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, local public broadcaster Saarländischer Rundfunk reported.
The US has begun a new two-week maintenance training seminar while another 50 Ukrainians are currently undergoing training.
“We do believe that these howitzers will be … very, very effective in helping [the Ukrainians] in the Donbas fight, which we’ve already seen,” the official said at the time.
Defense experts believe that whichever side can more effectively combine the use of drones in tandem with artillery fire will gain a considerable advantage in long-range combat, particularly in Donbas, the east-Ukrainian region that has become one of the main theatres of war in Ukraine.
Reconnaissance drones can spot potential enemy objectives, helping better aim artillery bombardment.
Reuters contributed to this report.