Ukrainian crisis/ The U.S. show of force

In the last several months, the amount of equipment and armored trucks resupplying the rebels “has doubled,” Hodges said, and Ukrainian forces have found themselves outgunned by sophisticated rockets and stymied by the rebels' superior electronic warfare capabilities.

But there's a catch to assisting Ukraine's forces: The administration’s policy toward the crisis is to provide only non-lethal assistance, so that the door is left open for a political solution with Russia and the two great powers don’t end up in a war by proxy.

As a result, Hodges said, the U.S. is providing Ukrainian forces specialized radars to detect incoming mortars so they can survive them, but not the capability to shoot them down.

Part of the training will include helping Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior troops, who are responsible for guarding the country’s infrastructure, on how to evade and survive their better-equipped foes.

U.S. ups the ante against Russia