2024-01-27T13:42:51+00:00
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/ US officials revealed, on Saturday, a plan by the Joseph Biden administration to “fortify” Ukraine in the future against a possible return of Donald Trump, as Washington is working on a plan to support short-term military operations, in addition to building a future Ukrainian military force that can “deter” Russian aggression, while Washington is also focusing on repelling the Ukrainians from the Russian attack instead of regaining territory.
According to US officials, the plan will also include specific promises and programs to help protect, rebuild and expand Ukraine’s industrial and export base, and assist the country in the political reforms necessary for full integration into Western institutions.
A US official said it was no coincidence that the long-term promise — assuming Congress again approves it — would also provide “stable, future” aid to Ukraine against the possibility of former President Donald Trump winning his re-election bid, according to the Washington Post.
While the White House continues to try to convince lawmakers, another senior administration official stressed that this strategy does not mean the Ukrainians will build their defensive trenches and “sit behind them” all year long.
“There is still an exchange of battles” in small towns and villages of little strategic value, “missile and drone fire” from both sides, and “Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure,” the official said.
The West’s hope for 2024 seems to be that Ukraine will avoid losing any territory larger than the fifth of the country now occupied by Russia.
The Biden administration is still smarting from last year’s failed counteroffensive in Ukraine, and is developing a new strategy that would focus less on retaking territory and instead on helping Ukraine fend off new Russian advances while moving toward the longer-term goal of strengthening its combat power and economy.
The emerging plan represents a sharp change from last year, when the U.S. and allied militaries rushed training and advanced equipment to Kyiv in the hope that it could quickly repel Russian forces occupying eastern and southern Ukraine.
These efforts were hampered by heavily fortified Russian minefields and front-line trenches.
“It’s obviously going to be difficult for them to try to do the same kind of massive pressure on all fronts that they tried to do last year,” a senior administration official said.
The US official said the idea now is to put Ukraine where it is on the battlefield right now, but “put it on a different trajectory to be much stronger by the end of 2024 and put it on a more sustainable trajectory.”
The U.S. planning is part of a multilateral effort by nearly three dozen countries that support Ukraine to pledge long-term security and economic support, both of which are necessary given the disappointing results of last year’s war.