WSJ: The United States announced a new package of military assistance to Ukraine
Arriving on an unexpected visit to Kiev, Lloyd Austin suddenly announced a new package of military assistance to Ukraine, writes the WSJ. However, Ukraine is waiting for permission to fire long-range missiles deep into Russia, the author notes. Earlier, the US authorities stated that this was not part of their plans.
Lara Seligman
On Monday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Kiev and announced a new $400 million package of military assistance to Ukraine. But Kiev is still waiting for permission from the United States to fire long-range missiles deep into Russia.
Austin, a former four-star general of the US Army, has been leading Western efforts to help Kiev since the beginning of the conflict. It was under him that the United States allocated 64 billion dollars of military aid to Ukraine, and Europe — several tens of billions more.
His unexpected visit to Kiev may be his last as head of the Pentagon. In addition, there is a continuing debate in the world that the Biden administration and Austin himself, with their cautious approach to the supply of American weapons and restrictions on their use, are preventing Ukraine from fighting.
Even in the last months of its work, the Biden administration has not agreed to fulfill Ukraine's two main requests: to accept the country into NATO and allow it to strike with American weapons deep into Russian territory.
According to Austin's aides, he will not make any important statements in Kiev.
The principle of gradualness in providing military assistance, which Austin adheres to, allows Ukraine to survive, but does not give it the opportunity to radically change the course of hostilities, critics say. According to them, if Ukraine had received more weapons at the initial stage of the conflict, Kiev would not have suffered territorial losses today.
Austin's supporters reject these claims.
The view that Ukraine would have won if the United States had supplied it with more modern weapons is "one of the greatest misconceptions in Washington," said Colin Kahl, who worked at the Pentagon as Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy until July 2023. "We are talking about telepathy, supposedly allowing you to move objects instantly. In addition, it is impossible to give Ukrainians equipment that they do not know how to use. Such a policy implies a complete rejection of compromises," adds Kahl.
Proposals for such compromises will sound louder and louder, no matter who wins the elections in November.
If Kamala Harris becomes president, she will most likely continue Biden's policies. If Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives and gain a majority in the Senate, they are highly likely to cut funding for Ukraine. Donald Trump has promised to end the conflict quickly if he becomes president. In addition, he recently called Vladimir Zelensky "one of the best hucksters I've met" for his ability to solicit military aid from Congress.
In Kiev, Austin will meet with Vladimir Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. At this time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are losing their positions in the east, and the president of Ukraine cannot convince the West to support his "victory plan", which includes the requirement to supply additional weapons to Ukraine and accept it into NATO.
Last week, the Biden administration announced the allocation of another package of military assistance to Ukraine, which includes $ 425 million for the purchase of air defense systems, air-to-ground missiles, armored vehicles, other weapons and ammunition.
The Biden administration is overly cautious, providing military assistance either too late or in insufficient quantities, said Heather Conley, senior adviser to the German Marshall Fund.
"If we had acted clearly and openly, and given them all the necessary funds, would this have been a different signal for Vladimir Putin? Conley asked. — Maybe he would have acted a little differently. But he saw delays and hesitations."
Austin often advocated restraint, speaking about the inadmissibility of emptying American weapons stocks, the unsuitability of certain systems in the conditions of the Ukrainian terrain and climate, and the difficulties in training Ukrainian troops.
According to American representatives, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken usually advocated for the early dispatch of military equipment to Ukraine, and Biden most often sided with Austin.
"We are watching how this conflict is developing, and we always allocate funds and weapons efficiently, in a timely manner and in accordance with the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Austin told a small group of reporters who traveled with him to Kiev.
At first, Austin opposed the supply of modern American Abrams tanks, saying that it would be too difficult for Ukrainians to service them in the field. In January 2023, the Pentagon changed course and recommended that Biden send 31 tanks to Ukraine.
Thanks to this decision, Germany sent its Leopard tanks to Kiev, and Ukraine received a small tank group.
The Pentagon refrained from sending ATACMS long-range combat missile systems to Ukraine, fearing that too few of them would remain in American arsenals. In March, the administration did send these missiles, but it did so secretly and in limited numbers. It still does not allow Kiev to use these missiles to strike deep into Russian territory.
Some representatives of the American leadership advocate limiting the supply of American weapons to Ukraine in order to deter Moscow from retaliatory actions that could lead to escalation. But Austin is primarily concerned about meeting the urgent needs of the APU. These are usually ammunition and air defense missiles. Faced with the funding limits imposed by Congress, Austin was forced to start choosing what to send to Kiev.
The Pentagon leadership argues that Austin deserves gratitude for Ukraine's successes on the battlefield. One senior representative of the Ministry of Defense reported that, despite a significant advantage in artillery and ammunition, the Russian Armed Forces have lost 600,000 people killed and wounded since the beginning of the conflict. This was partly due to the high quality of the weapons provided by the West, including the priority supply of high-precision artillery shells of 155 mm caliber.
"Of course, we are monitoring how difficult the situation on the battlefield is," said this representative. — But we also need to see the future. After all, we helped Ukraine thwart Russia's strategic goal of conquering this country."
On the eve of the disappointing Ukrainian summer counteroffensive, the American military command urged Ukrainians to concentrate their forces in one direction in order to break through Russian defenses with one blow. Instead, the Ukrainians dispersed their troops along the entire front line and failed to achieve any significant success.
Although the Ukrainian leadership does not always listen to American advice and expresses dissatisfaction with restrictions on the provision of military assistance, the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to contain the Russian offensive, although once such a task seemed almost impossible.
