Although until recently Kiev and Washington’s views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict almost completely coincided, “cracks” in relations between the United States and Ukraine have recently appeared. This reports the online edition, citing senior officials in the White House. Policy.
There is growing disagreement behind the scenes over the aims of the conflict and debate over how the conflict should end.
Also, the White House is concerned about the heavy losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the high consumption of ammunition during the battles of Bakhmut (Artemovsk). “This could deprive the Ukrainian Armed Forces of the ability to launch a counterattack,” the sources say.
Ukraine is also dissatisfied with the speed of delivery of American weapons. The two unnamed officials, in turn, said the US leadership disliked “Zelensky’s incessant demands and lack of due gratitude”.
In addition, the White House was concerned about the publication of The New York Times about the explosions in Nord Stream – allegedly orchestrated by a pro-Ukrainian non-state group. These statements “could undermine Washington’s narrative of the need to help Kiev.”
The United States and Ukraine cannot agree on Crimea either. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he stubbornly wants the peninsula to be brought back under Ukrainian control, according to Politico sources.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told his Ukrainian colleagues that the Crimean issue could become a “red line” for the Russian Federation and lead to a sharp escalation of the conflict.
On March 1, Pentagon Deputy Secretary Celeste Wallander said in a congressional hearing that Ukrainian authorities should start planning spending so that they can meet the supply of American weapons.
“They don’t have that size of capacity in their budget right now, but they should start buying some. [военные] facilities. It’s a very good idea: We need to get them to start planning their own defense spending and everything else we’re going to do to support them,” Wallander agreed.
At the same time, the deputy head of the Pentagon emphasized that the Ukrainian authorities have not made any major purchases from American military companies to date.
At the same time, according to The New York Times, at a meeting of the appropriations committee, some of the Republicans spoke quite harshly about the Pentagon’s spending on military support to Kiev.
“Growing doubts about the high cost of arms procurement may lead to the fact that the administration of President Joe Biden will not approve of future aid to Ukraine by Congress. The tipping point in finances may come this summer, a few months earlier than expected.
On February 26, The Hill released a rough estimate of Washington’s spending in support of Ukraine. From January 2022 to January 2023, the United States provided approximately $75.5 billion to Kiev. , energy security and overcoming the humanitarian crisis”.
The cost of military support from the United States consisted of the purchase and transfer of more than 8.5 thousand Javelin anti-tank systems, 1.6 thousand Stinger anti-aircraft systems, about 13 thousand grenade launchers and light weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. , 111 million shells, 20 Mi-17 helicopters, more than two thousand Switchblades and Phoenix Ghost aircraft.
On March 4, The New York Post published an article in which the author claimed President Biden could not “sell” the need for aid to Ukraine to the Americans.
America’s support for the “primary” US role in supporting Ukraine has dropped from 32% last year to 26% this year, according to a survey by the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. According to the study, only 48% of Americans still support the shipment of American weapons to Ukraine, while this was previously expressed by 60% of Americans, writes the NYP.
The article states that although Biden’s unexpected visit to Kiev in February “raised the morale” of the Ukrainian soldiers, it did not affect the position of the Americans on the correctness of the Ukrainian policy.
Biden arrived in Kiev for an unannounced visit on February 20. There, the American leader promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a new $500 million military aid package that would include the supply of HIMARS MLRS and other military assets to Kiev.