A review of the international press shows that the support of Ukraine from Western partners remains unchanged and systematic.
The Washington Post says that Biden administration will provide USD 2.6 billion of new military aid, which will include air defence systems. The Pentagon will order 9 trucks with 30mm weapons and 10 laser-guided missile systems. According to officials, both types of weapons are designed to shoot down enemy drones.
In addition to that, Biden administration offers support for the creation of an international court to prosecute alleged crimes of russian aggression against Ukraine. According to The Washington Post, they envisage the creation of a hybrid tribunal based on the Ukrainian justice system, but with international components, similar to previous ad-hoc war crimes courts.
The Wall Street Journal published a very interesting article about how Ukraine's heroic resistance dramatically improved strategic position of the US around the world. The author notes that NATO has become much stronger and more hardened than it has been since the Cold War.
If the US abandons Ukraine after all the support it has provided, it will be a strategic, economic and moral disaster that will reduce US influence around the world and hurt its economy.
The statement from our partner Poland this week was very important. According to CNN, Andrzej Duda assured that Poland would continue to support Ukraine and seek additional security guarantees for Ukraine on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. He also confirmed Poland's support for Ukraine's future membership in the EU and NATO.
In general, the support of our country by the collective West is stable and unwavering. The partners well understand the importance of Ukraine's victory and also understand that any victory of russia will put the entire world order under attack. According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, what happens in Europe today can happen in Asia tomorrow.
The Biden administration pledged Tuesday to commit an additional $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine, saying it will provide air defense systems that include gun trucks and laser-guided weapons to counter Russia’s relentless use of drones.
The package includes about $500 million in equipment from U.S. military stocks for immediate or near-term transfer, plus $2.1 billion in arms that the administration will order using a congressionally approved fund known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, U.S. officials said. Delivery of those items is probably months away.
“The United States supports the development of a special tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine in the form of an internationalized court that is rooted in Ukraine’s judicial system, with international elements,” the State Department said in comments emailed to reporters.
The officials said they envision a hybrid tribunal based on the Ukrainian justice system but with international components — similar to previous ad hoc war crimes courts set up for Cambodia, Chad, the Central African Republic and Bosnia — and likely based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Ukraine’s heroic resistance to Russia, a power hostile to the U.S., has dramatically improved America’s strategic position world-wide. The Kremlin has become far weaker, while NATO, which includes many of our most trusted allies, has become far stronger and more united than it has been since the Cold War. But if Russia prevails in the war, that progress would be reversed.
There’s more than our strategic interests at stake. A Europe threatened by an aggressive, resurgent and hostile Russia isn’t in our economic interests, either. The European Union bought $349 billion of U.S. goods in 2022; our bilateral trading and investment relationship with the EU is the largest in the world. If Mr. Putin conquers Ukraine and demands fealty from European nations, it will result in fewer purchases of American exports.
If the U.S. abandons Ukraine after all its courage and sacrifice, it would be a strategic, economic and moral catastrophe that would reduce our influence around the world and damage our economy. Aiding Ukraine is putting America’s interests first.
Training is one of the keys to the war in Ukraine. There has been no movement of the front for several months, with fighting now concentrated mainly in the Donbas, especially around the cities of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Vuhledar. So the western allies of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are accelerating this support to Kyiv's soldiers to enable them to resume their offensives in the spring and summer, when the weather conditions are suitable for maneuvers.
Long behind some of its European neighbors, France has just sent 150 French army instructors to Poland, to an undisclosed location. Their mission is to train some 600 Ukrainian soldiers (the equivalent of a battalion) every month in basic combat techniques. "The training will start in April and will initially teach land combat to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers," said the Armed Forces Ministry.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday that he wants to "obtain security guarantees for Ukraine" at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting neighboring Poland, one of Kyiv's closest allies, to sign bilateral agreements and hold an economic forum with Duda.
"I believe that the western direction of Ukraine's economic activity will be maintained. We support Ukraine’s pursuit of EU and NATO membership," Duda said during a joint news conference with Zelensky in Warsaw. "During the Vilnius summit, we want to obtain security guarantees for Ukraine."
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