Waving the white flag? Surrender of Lord Cornwallis. (John Trumbull, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
The New York Times reports on America’s reneging on promised defense aid for Ukraine. Excerpt:
A few months ago, Oleh Voroshylovskyi, the commander of a Ukrainian unit tasked with shooting down Russian drones attacking Kyiv, received a coveted American weapon to aid in their mission — a Browning machine gun capable of firing rounds at targets over a mile away.
Not only would it help the unit target Russian drones at higher altitudes, it also symbolized, at the unit’s level, America’s support for Ukraine in the war against Russia.
But after the Trump administration announced on Tuesday a pause in the delivery of some air defense interceptors and other weapons to Ukraine, because of what it said were dwindling U.S. stockpiles, Mr. Voroshylovskyi is no longer sure about America’s continued support.
“This will have a serious impact on combat effectiveness,” he said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
The deliveries now on hold were all allocated under the Biden administration, and Mr. Trump has not approved new military aid packages for Ukraine. Washington had committed to delivering as much as $11 billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine this year.
Among the munitions now being withheld are missiles for U.S.-designed Patriot air defense systems, precision artillery rounds and other missiles that Ukraine fires from its American-made F-16 fighter jets. Although it is unclear how many weapons were included, the signal seems clear: Washington is disengaging from the war.
“Ukraine is no longer a priority, no longer at the center of the U.S. foreign policy,” Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of the Ukrainian defense and intelligence parliamentary committee, said in a telephone interview. “At least Trump is very honest about this with the Ukrainians.”
…
It is unclear how deeply the pause will affect Ukraine, which is now getting weapons from Europe and making its own.
Slava Ukraine!
0 Comments