A bipartisan proposal has surfaced in the US House Intelligence Committee to back a rebel force in Ukraine with weapons, money and intelligence.
The legislative initiative is led by Republican Representative Mike Turner and supported by Democratic Congressmen Marc Veasey and Raja Krishnamoorthi, who spoke with the voice of america.
“We have to prepare to support an insurgency, that is very important. The initiative is called an act of support. Not just weapons, not just money, but also intelligence, so that our allies can take advantage of using any useful intelligence to defend themselves,” explained the Democratic legislator from Illinois.
Mark Cancian, a security and defense expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategy and International Studies (CSIS), warns that the cost of supporting an insurgent force will be very high in human lives if Russia gains full control of Ukraine.
“It would be absolutely destructive. The United States supported an insurgent force in Afghanistan when the Russians occupied that country. The insurgency lasted several years [desde 1979 a 1989] and it was ultimately successful, but millions of Afghans were killed,” he said.
Another fear Cancian expresses is that a direct NATO clash with Russia could break out.
“How to supply and support an insurgency? It is highly likely that it would have to be from Poland or Romania, and that would mean that there would be insurgent bases in NATO territories, and Russia would be tempted to attack those bases and that situation of NATO and Russia attacking each other would be very dangerous.” Cancian assured.
The Ukrainians have resisted the Russian attack and the return of compatriots to defend their country has been reported, which makes experts anticipate that, in any case, they will look for ways to adapt their resistance.
“Ukraine will have to go into insurgency mode and I think it is absolutely true that the United States and Europe can and should continue to support that insurgency through weapons and other means. As time goes by it will get more difficult”, he told the voice of americaBruce Jones, director of the International Order and Strategy project at the Brookings Institution.
Ukrainian-born US Republican Congresswoman Victoria Spartz believes that Congress is willing to do whatever it takes to stop Putin’s actions and help Ukrainians.
“We can do many things. The president has the ability to do things without us, but whatever he needs from us, I think Congress is united. We have a bipartisan resolution and I think we will show that the people of Ukraine have our support,” he told him. Spartz a FLY.
The White House has asked Congress for $10 billion for security and humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. The challenge for the US government will be to find effective ways to deliver the aid if the Ukrainian military fails to resist the Russian invasion.
* Katherine Gypson contributed to this story.
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