The Biden administration has defended itself against accusations it has been too “timid” in arming Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion, insisting it has been “prepared to take risks” whilst being mindful of the Kremlin’s response.
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Friday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan found himself under fire after President Zelensky spoke at the event via video and complained about the lack of F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles that the U.S. had yet to provide.
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In response, Sullivan described that idea that the administration is “sitting around, you know, unwilling to provide things because we’re worried about the Russians” as a “caricature,” adding: “I think that is belied by the sheer magnitude of the breadth and sophistication of the capabilities that we have provided.”
While Washington has committed to providing tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv since Russia invaded in February 2022, Ukrainian requests for equipment such heavy tanks took months to be fulfilled while those for long-range missiles remain unheeded so far.
Ukraine’s western allies have been wary of providing some weapons for fear of escalating the war with Russia, but Sullivan said the U.S. “has been prepared to take risks.”
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He added: “And we will continue to be prepared to take risks to provide support to Ukraine.
“It is responsible for every member of NATO and for the United States to think about the Russian reaction when we choose to do something because that matters for our security and management of global stability.
“So don’t be paralyzed by it. Consider it and then make decisions accordingly.”
The U.S. on Wednesday announced a new $1.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine featuring air defense systems, anti-tank missiles, drones and other equipment.
The package is part of U.S. efforts to meet “Ukraine's pressing requirements by committing critical near-term capabilities while also building the enduring capacity of Ukraine's armed forces,” the Defense Department said in a statement.
The assistance will not immediately arrive on the battlefield, as it falls under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), under which Washington procures equipment from the defense industry or partners, rather than drawing it from U.S. stocks.
The package includes four NASAMs air defense systems and related munitions, TOW anti-tank missiles, 152 mm artillery shells, drones as well as counter-drone systems, and various vehicles.
The announcement comes as Ukrainian forces are fighting to advance against invading Russian troops in a slow-moving counteroffensive that Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukraine's president, said Wednesday “will be quite difficult, long and will take quite a lot of time.”
Podolyak also said that Kyiv's forces need two to three hundred tanks as well as 60 to 80 F-16 warplanes.
The Netherlands and Denmark are leading a plan to train Ukrainian pilots on using the U.S.-made aircraft as part of an 11-nation coalition, but the effort is still in its early stages.
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