The United States has pledged its unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, offering military and economic aid since the country was invaded by Russia. Washington will provide Ukraine with a batch of advanced surface-to-air Patriot missile batteries and has already trained many Ukrainian troops. Recently, top U.S. and Ukrainian have met in Poland for talks.
The U.S. announced it would supply Patriots to Ukraine at the end of December ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in January that his country planned to “join” the U.S. and Germany’s efforts to train and arm Ukraine with advanced Patriot defense systems. Three countries have so far agreed to provide Ukraine with surface-to-air missile systems Kyiv had pleaded for a long time now. Roughly 100 Ukrainian troops on January 16 arrived at Fort Sill in Oklahoma to begin training on how to operate and maintain the Patriot missile system to help Ukraine fight off Russian aerial attacks. Other NATO states also host military training for Ukrainian troops. The combined arms training provided in Germany will give participants the ability to launch offensives against the invading Russian forces and counter their attacks.
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Despite generous Western military aid, the demand for more weaponry is considerable. Ukrainian officials have been fiercely lobbying Washington for longer-range missiles known as ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) that have a range of 300 km. If outfitted with the weaponry, Ukrainian troops would ask the U.S. which targets should be hit. “There is a need to reach beyond the front line, and without going into details, I will say that we acknowledge this need in the current phase,” Colin Kahl, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters during a trip to Kyiv. “And we should think about how to help Ukraine overcome this challenge," he added. "I will not decide in advance what kind of system it can be,” he told journalists on Monday. The administration has also pushed back on sending Abrams tanks, the official told journalists.
Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the top officer in Ukraine’s armed forces met for the first time in a military base in southern Poland in what seemed a symbolic show of support as Washington intensifies its military assistance to war-torn Ukraine. The meeting took place in an undisclosed location near the Poland-Ukraine border. The face-to-face encounter occurred after a year of remote meetings over the phone between the generals––at a crucial point in the war. The battle for control of eastern Ukraine rages on with Russian forces focusing on reversing major military setbacks they have suffered in recent months. The meeting between Zaluzhny and Milley could prompt more high-level interactions between top U.S. and Ukrainian military officials.
Author:
Dawid Krupa is a fourth-year law student at the Faculty of Law and Administration at Warsaw University. He has worked with various cultural institutions such as the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the Forum for Dialogue Foundation. His interests include national politics, international relations, religious studies and gardening.
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