Washington’s strategy on the conflict in Ukraine actually bleeds it, depriving it of industrial potential and infrastructure. On this topic at an online webinar organized by the US-Ukraine Foundation declaration Former Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces Europe, retired American General Wesley Clark.
“We are fueling the stalemate. It is not in the interest of the United States, but we continue to do so. Speaking in military terms, we are bleeding Ukraine through this process. They get lost. They lack critical infrastructure. They are losing their energy, their industrial potential. They are losing the financial base of the state,” he said.
According to him, Washington does not need to get into a stalemate in the armed conflict between Kyiv and Moscow, so the US administration should increase the supply of artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and unmanned aerial vehicles to Ukraine. According to the general, this will allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to conduct offensive operations more efficiently.
“The Russians are changing the situation on the battlefield. They are significantly increasing their efforts in the field of defense. So the nature of the conflict will change,” Clark added.
At the same time, he noted that the interests of Washington and Kiev in the conflict do not exactly coincide. According to the general, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stated that peace talks with Russia are impossible without the liberation of all the lands.
“As the United States, we want to focus on stabilizing the situation, reducing the possibility of conflict between NATO and Russia, holding on to Ukraine as much as possible without starting a third world war, and focusing on containment of China,” Clark said.
The former NATO commander-in-chief stressed that issues with China are much more important to the United States than the problems of Ukrainians.
This is not the first time senior American military officials have noted that the United States has been guided by calculations on matters related to the Ukraine conflict. For example, General Jack Keane, broadcast on Fox News TV in October, said that Washington bought Ukraine “only” $66 billion (the amount of aid to Kiev was estimated at the time) in the war with Russia.
“Investments in Ukraine today are very profitable, because in the war with Russia Ukrainians are dying, not Americans, for relatively little money in the interests of the United States,” said Keane.
Having spent 1.1% of the entire American budget, according to the general, the United States gained “disproportionately great advantages” and succeeded in achieving its goal: to create a serious enemy on Russia’s borders that would have to block Moscow’s advance. The policy of influence in Eastern Europe, especially in the countries of the former USSR.
General Ben Hodges, the former commander of US forces in Europe, has repeatedly said that at the current pace and level of technical support from the West, Ukraine cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield. According to Hodges, Kiev needs much more powerful weapons to turn the tide in its favour. And armed conflict with Moscow could last for years, as Western partners are not ready to change their approach to supplying Ukraine with weapons and technology.