War

The Washington Post: US plans for Ukraine do not include return of territories

The Biden administration is working on a long-term strategy to support Kyiv, despite the funding impasse in Congress. However, these plans do not foresee significant successes for Ukraine against Russia in 2024. This is stated in an article by The Washington Post, reports

The newspaper claims that the new strategy will de-emphasise the need to win territory and focus instead on helping Ukraine repel new Russian offensives while moving towards the long-term goal of strengthening its military and economy.

The new plan is very different from last year’s, journalists write, when the US and allies sent sophisticated equipment to Ukraine in the hope that the Ukrainians could quickly push back the Russians. That attempt failed, mainly due to heavily fortified Russian minefields and a strong defence line.

“It’s pretty clear that they [the Ukrainians] are going to have a hard time trying to make the same kind of major push on all fronts that they tried to make last year,”

– said a senior administration official.

Therefore, this year, the US is going to position Ukraine so that it holds its ground on the battlefield for now, but

“to put them on a different trajectory to be much stronger by the end of 2024… and put them on a more sustainable path,” the official said,

– the official said.

The publication also claims that the Biden administration hopes to unveil its own 10-year commitment to Ukraine this spring. However, this depends on whether Congress allocates funds for it. This pledge could be part of a security agreement between the US and Ukraine, which is currently being prepared by the parties.

“Festival of security agreements”

Against the backdrop of disappointing news about the lack of a solution for immediate assistance from our partners, the “Festival of Security Agreements with Ukraine” is gaining momentum, with Western countries guaranteeing our security under bilateral agreements such as the Budapest Memorandum. After signing the agreement with the UK, Ukraine’s next bilateral security agreement may be with Canada. In addition, Ukraine is negotiating relevant agreements with several other countries: The United States, France, Germany, Poland, and Italy. In particular, the US Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, said that two rounds of talks between Ukraine and the US had already taken place on the content and content of the relevant agreement with the US government. And French President Macron said that he would personally come to Kyiv to finalise the security agreement between Ukraine and France.

Ukraine is desperately trying to enlist the support of the world. In particular, the following 5 points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula were presented in Davos. At the previous consultations in Malta, the first five points of the Peace Formula were considered, which included nuclear and food security, the release of prisoners, and the restoration of territorial integrity and sovereignty. In Davos, an additional five points were presented: the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, the restoration of justice, environmental security, the prevention of escalation and recurrence of war, and the issue of confirming the end of the war.