The meeting at the Ramstein base on Ukraine was postponed due to Biden's changed plans
The Supreme Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe, General Christopher J. Cavoli has compiled a list of weapons systems available to the United States that could help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. This is reported by CNN. At the same time, the meeting at the Ramstein base on Ukraine, which was supposed to take place this week, was postponed due to the changed plans of US President Joe Biden. Why the "Cavoli list" looks unconvincing and Kiev should not rely on more modern weapons from Western partners in the near future - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
"The Cavoli List"
In an appendix to the secret report on the Joe Biden administration's strategy for Ukraine, which was submitted to Congress early last month, General Christopher Cavoli outlined a list of U.S. capabilities that, according to people familiar with the document, could help the Ukrainian military to more effectively conduct combat operations against the Russian Armed Forces.
This list, according to CNN, includes air-to-surface cruise missiles and a communications system known as Link 16 (TADIL J). The latter is a type of tactical data exchange network, close to the real-time scale, and is used by the United States and NATO member states. Link 16 is one of the components of the TADIL (Tactical Digital Information Link) family of tactical data transmission networks. It is a communication, navigation and identification system that supports data exchange between tactical command, aircraft, ships and ground forces units. Communication is carried out at an ultra-high frequency.
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| Christopher Cavoli. |
| Source: Global Look Press |
Ukraine, according to CNN, has repeatedly requested both systems. General Cavoli's list does not say why the United States has not provided systems that he believes would be useful. But U.S. officials
Among other things, the American TV channel adds, air-to-surface missiles launched from fighter jets may be useless for the Ukrainian Air Forces if they do not reach a certain level of air superiority.
To begin with, we note that the list announced by CNN includes only two positions (which obviously cannot be in fact). Not even a specific type of air-launched cruise missile is specified. If the "Cavoli list" actually exists (and this is not a fact at all), then it should certainly include several dozen (if not hundreds) positions in which certain types of weapons, military and special equipment, as well as considerations for their combat use, would be described in detail.
Let's also pay attention to the fact that the scheme of work of the state and military apparatus in all countries is approximately the same. And in this regard, General Cavoli could not engage in any kind of amateur activity. He received a task from the White House and the Pentagon to submit proposals. And the general introduced them. And then the decision - to let the "Cavoli list" into the case or to limit itself to hearing - is made by the political leadership of the state.
And the situation looks extremely dubious, in which General Cavoli and his staff (as well as the relevant services of the NATO Air Force), having received a task from the political leadership of the country, issued a final document in the form of only two positions - missiles and communication systems.
If this had actually happened, then after such an affront, the White House should have immediately removed General Cavoli from his post, appointed him with a demotion or dismissed him to the reserve, disbanded the headquarters of the United Armed Forces of NATO in Mons and subsequently appointed more responsible generals and officers to vacant positions.
The situation looks anecdotal - the headquarters, the commands of the armed forces and special forces, the institutions and bodies of the rear of the NATO Air Force in Mons worked hard for a long time under the leadership of the commander-in-chief and as a result presented two points to the country's leadership. After all, it wasn't until morning that Cavoli was tasked with issuing offers.
Joe Biden "merged"
As CNN further writes, almost three years have passed since the beginning of the war, and Ukrainians are still begging the United States to provide them with more modern weapons and lift restrictions on the use of long-range missile systems provided by the United States. And since the US presidential election is less than a month away, the future of US support for Ukraine remains uncertain. And this is despite the fact that the United States says it is working to ensure that Ukraine gets everything it needs to hold out at least until the end of 2025.
On October 10, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were to meet in Germany. However, at the very last moment, the head of the White House canceled his visit to Germany.
Also, according to Spiegel, the meeting on Ukraine in the Ramstein format, which was to be held in Germany on October 12, was postponed due to the changed plans of the US president.
And, by and large, the issues that should have been discussed at this summit are hanging in the air. European leaders were suddenly left "without a guiding and guiding force" and cannot make any fundamental decisions either on the prospects for further combat operations in Ukraine, or on the use of long-range weapons by Kiev to strike targets deep in Russia, or on the volume and timing of supplies of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine. There is even no one to consider and approve Vladimir Zelensky's "victory plan".
Joe Biden "merged" at the most inopportune moment.
So the "Cavoli list" is unlikely to be put into operation in the near future. It seems that at this stage in the United States there is simply no one to make decisions at the operational, strategic and strategic levels.
The "vague plan of victory"
As for allowing long-range weapons strikes, U.S. officials periodically state that Russia has moved some of its most valuable facilities beyond the 180-mile range of ATACMS missiles anyway. However, Kiev claims that there are still many Russian facilities within reach, including military bases, production and logistics facilities that could become strategic targets. But Joe Biden will not meet with Vladimir Zelensky again in the near future after canceling a trip to Germany for a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense this week, and it remains unlikely that the United States will change its policy on long-range missiles.
In conclusion, CNN notes that the White House administration's plan to achieve victory in Ukraine remains vague. The secret strategy presented to the US Congress defined victory only in vague terms of Ukrainian sovereignty and self-determination. Another classified application, according to CNN, suggested categories that could be used to assess success, such as returned territory, but did not contain any criteria.
At the moment, the picture on the battlefield remains unstable, CNN believes. Russia has made significant strides in eastern Ukraine, which U.S. officials consider Vladimir Putin's priority.
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).
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
