Colonel Khodarenok: Zelensky will ask Blinken to speed up the supply of weapons
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has arrived in Ukraine to send a "strong signal of confidence" to Kiev amid the failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield. What he will talk about with the military-political leadership of Ukraine is in the material of the military observer of the Newspaper.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
Send a "strong signal"
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kiev on May 14. This was the first visit by a representative of the US presidential administration Joe Biden to Ukraine after the delay in American funding, CNN reported.
According to a senior representative of the US administration, Blinken will meet with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and make a speech in which he will emphasize the continued support of Ukraine by the United States in all areas, including the military, economic, energy sector and the construction of democratic institutions.
The head of the State Department will also talk about the strategic successes that Ukraine has achieved during the ongoing military operations against the Russian Armed Forces. According to a CNN source, he intends to send a "strong signal of confidence to Ukrainians" amid the failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield. As CNN notes,
In addition, a few weeks before Blinken's trip, Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package, which includes almost $61 billion for Ukraine. This happened after a successful six-month campaign by the White House to attract the support of the US Republican Party, which had previously stubbornly resisted sending such a volume of funds abroad.
"The mission of the US Secretary of State in Ukraine is actually to tell Kiev about how our additional assistance will be implemented to help Ukraine strengthen its defense, give them the opportunity to increasingly seize the initiative on the battlefield, and looking ahead," a source told CNN in the administration.
According to him, Blinken will also discuss other steps that the United States is taking "to provide Ukrainians with long-term security guarantees and commitments, including a bilateral security agreement."
During his fourth visit to Ukraine, the head of the State Department also scheduled meetings with Prime Minister Denis Shmigal and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, as well as representatives of civil society and the private sector of Ukraine.
Vladimir Zelensky and Anthony Blinken before a meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, September 6, 2023
Image source: Brendan Smialowski/Pool/AP
According to an official statement from the State Department, they will "discuss battlefield updates, the impact of new U.S. defense and economic assistance, long-term security commitments and other commitments, as well as ongoing work to support Ukraine's economic recovery."
"Help me get out of the pit"
Just a few days before Anthony Blinken's arrival in Kiev, a senior Ukrainian general said that the situation in the northeast of the Kharkiv region had "deteriorated significantly." U.S. officials acknowledge that the decline in U.S. support due to disagreements in Congress has significantly aggravated the already difficult situation in Ukraine.
"There is no doubt that we had to pay for it, we are doing everything in our power to provide this assistance as soon as possible. But now is a difficult moment," Blinken himself said on CBS.
According to a CNN source, some of the additional U.S. aid is already at the forefront. In particular, Washington began supplying MGM-140 ATACMS long-range tactical ballistic missiles, "especially given Russia's actions right now in Kharkiv."
Image source: Alina Dzhus/"Newspaper.Ru"
"It's an uphill struggle. There is no doubt about it. But we have great confidence that the Ukrainians will increasingly effectively push the Russians back as our assistance comes from both the United States and other allies and partners," the official said.
At the same time, officials told CNN that some time will pass between the approval of a multibillion-dollar package for Ukraine and the receipt of most of the aid, which will significantly change the situation on the front line.
Western intelligence believes that Russia views this gap in delivery time as a "window of opportunity" and seeks to use it to further ramp up its air and ground attacks on the Armed Forces and facilities of the country.
At the same time, U.S. officials are finding ways to quickly secure vital military supplies to Ukraine. In particular, for these purposes, the so-called PDA (Presidential Drawdown Authority) mechanism is used, which allows the US president to send weapons and military equipment to Ukraine from military warehouses in the United States by his decision. So, just a few minutes after Joe Biden signed the aid bill, the United States announced the allocation of a $1 billion package, and the president then said that supplies of equipment to Ukraine would begin "in the next few hours."
Last week, the United States announced another $400 million PDA package and sales of highly mobile M142 HIMARS army missile systems, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine are successfully using against the Russian army, in the amount of $30 million. Earlier this week, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced the allocation of a third package of PDAs in the coming days "to significantly accelerate the pace of deliveries."
"The delay has put Ukraine in a difficult position, and we are trying to help it get out of this hole as quickly as possible," Sullivan said.
What will they talk about?
By and large, the content of Blinken and Zelensky's conversation cannot be a big secret. The President of Ukraine will ask (and as convincingly as possible, perhaps with a tremor in his voice and tears in his eyes) the Secretary of State to speed up the supply of weapons and military equipment as much as possible (although, it should be noted, these requests are not exactly addressed to Blinken, after all, arms supplies to the United States go through another department).
Currently, Ukraine is most interested in ammunition for barrel and rocket artillery, anti-tank missile systems, air defense systems (automated control systems, radar stations, anti-aircraft missile systems and missiles to them), multifunctional fighters, aviation weapons and other things.
In addition, Ukraine will soon face a large-scale mobilization. Hundreds of thousands of people are planned to be drafted into the ranks of the armed forces, and this entire contingent must be provided with uniforms, equipment, small arms and ammunition, food and medical equipment. Then it is necessary to conduct a whole cycle of exercises, which will also require considerable funds.
Most likely, this is exactly what Anthony Blinken and Vladimir Zelensky will talk about, and at the end of the conversation, the US Secretary of State will promise the president of Ukraine to bring all his requests to President Biden in full.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok