WASHINGTON, November 28. /TASS/. The United States is ready to expand training opportunities for the Ukrainian armed forces if Kiev takes measures to address the manpower shortage, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

"We believe manpower is the most vital need they (the Ukrainian authorities - TASS) have. So, we're also ready to ramp up our training capacity if they take appropriate steps to fill out their ranks," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying. Kirby also confirmed that the US still intends to supply Ukraine with ammunition and weapons.

A representative of the administration of current US President Joe Biden earlier expressed the opinion that the Ukrainian military needs manpower. According to him, the mobilization and build-up of manpower could lead to significant changes for Kiev. At the same time, the official acknowledged that the Russian armed forces are confidently making progress, in particular, pushing the Ukrainian servicemen from positions in the Kursk Region.

General mobilization in Ukraine was announced in February 2022 and has been extended several times since then. On May 18, 2024, the law on toughening mobilization came into force in the country. Nevertheless, in recent months, the pace of replenishment of the Ukrainian armed forces has slowed down and the issue of critical shortage of manpower in the army has arisen. In this regard, employees of territorial recruitment centers began to carry out forced mobilizations more often. Against this background, spontaneous protests of the population against the actions of military officers have become more frequent.