The United States has its eyes – and satellites – on the military situation in Ukraine. Since November, Joe Biden has clearly indicated, on numerous occasions, that the American army would not be directly involved in the fighting against Russia, under penalty of an escalation between nuclear powers with unforeseeable consequences. But for all that, Washington does not remain inactive.
In a statement issued on February 26, the Department of Defense confirmed the extension of the assistance effort to Ukrainian forces. An envelope of 350 million dollars has been added, in order to deliver in particular small arms and ammunition, as well as protections. The total amount of security aid approved by Washington therefore amounts to one billion dollars in one year, one-third of which in anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. In recent weeks, the American authorities have often insisted on the sum paid since 2014, to show the exceptional effort made: 2.7 billion dollars in eight years.
However, we must resist the fascination of numbers. The example of Afghanistan encourages us to be wary of publicity. Total US military aid to Kabul was estimated at $73 billion between 2001 and 2020, an average of $3.8 billion per year. This did not prevent the accelerated rout of the Afghan forces in the face of the progression of the Taliban, in the summer of 2021. It is no less true that the constant support since 2014 of the United States has a dimension as political as operational. It was perceived in Moscow as an additional illustration of the Western desire to tear Ukraine from its zone of influence.. “The United States remains committed to assisting Ukraine in advancing its Euro-Atlantic aspirations in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic, and free Ukraine.”writes the Office of Political and Military Affairs, on the State Department website, on January 20.
Very light deliveries
It is impossible to detail the role played by American support in the fierce resistance of the Ukrainians against the Russian offensive, especially in terms of technical intelligence, to slow it down as much as possible. Especially since other factors are decisive: the unprecedented and sacrificial mobilization of civilians, the inconsistencies and questions about the morale of the Russian troops… But the contrast with the rout observed in 2014 is obvious.
At the dawn of this fateful year, eight years ago, the Ukrainian army was scraping by, on the basis of its Soviet heritage. Its troops numbered a few thousand men, it was underfunded, its organization inadequate. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its destabilization of Donbass, through Moscow-led separatists, then decimated this Ukrainian army. It lost 70% of its fleet and a large part of its air capacity. We had to rebuild, modernize, train. For this, Ukraine turned to NATO and the United States.
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