WASHINGTON, Dec 15 - The United States is considering expanding its support for the war in Ukraine, as Kyiv worries that Russia could make a new push to take the capital as soon as January, according to six people with knowledge of the discussions.

In addition to finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system, the administration is also weighing sending other weapons such as Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, which convert unguided aerial munitions into smart bombs, and Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, which would significantly extend Ukraine’s strike range, POLITICO reported citing two U.S. officials and another person familiar with the matter.

The Pentagon on Thursday also announced it is expanding training for Ukraine’s military at a U.S. base in Germany. The U.S. military currently trains several hundred Ukrainians a month on how to use specific weapons; the new plan would expand the pipeline to a battalion of roughly 500 soldiers a month, and training would include how to coordinate infantry maneuvering with artillery support, said Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder.

Kyiv’s pleas for help are increasing in urgency as its battlefield gains stall and Moscow continues its bombardment of Ukrainian cities. Russia has destroyed half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the United Nations reports, with regular blackouts and power cuts leaving millions without electricity just as winter sets in.

Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s top military leader, told the Economist that he believes Russia is mobilizing 200,000 new troops and could push to take Kyiv as soon as January. He begged for hundreds more tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and howitzers to help repel Russian forces, as well as missile defenses.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday that Russian mobilization efforts and recent movement of heavy weaponry suggest Moscow may be preparing for a large-scale offensive in January and February.

“We are balancing on a fine line. And if [the power grid] is destroyed … that is when soldiers’ wives and children start freezing,” Zaluzhnyi told the Economist. “What kind of mood the fighters will be in, can you imagine? Without water, light and heat, can we talk about preparing reserves to keep fighting?”

Zaluzhnyi spoke with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley during a phone call on Tuesday that also included Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleskii Reznikov and Andriy Yermak, who heads the Ukrainian presidential office.

On Thursday morning, Austin and Milley briefed House members about the situation in Ukraine. They discussed sending Patriots to Ukraine, but said the decision had not yet been approved, according to one congressional aide and two other people familiar with the briefing. Like others interviewed for this story, the people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalized.

Spokespeople for the Pentagon and National Security Council declined to comment. (po/ez)