A report from the White House reveals that President Biden is considering allowing US contractors on the ground in Ukraine to provide technical assistance.
From the painfully slow agreement to allow Poland and others to provide Soviet-era MIG-29 jet fighters to taking more than two years to approve F-16s and providing modern tanks months after requested, the Biden defense team has helped extend the fighting between Ukraine and Russia. In April, Liberty Nation News reported that despite the Biden administration’s adamant resistance to putting US military “boots on the ground,” in Ukraine, US “troops will be working out of the embassy and providing guidance; they will not be in combat.”
However, the US military’s active involvement in the conflict in Ukraine appears to be expanding. It was only a matter of time before someone realized that the complex weapons and equipment the US provided to the Kyiv government would require routine maintenance, refurbishment, and repair. Keeping the weapons in the fight does not always allow for returning the equipment to a maintenance depot; sometimes, those repairs must be done on the spot.
A recent media report explained that the Biden administration is “moving toward lifting a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine.” When asked about the report, a White House official denied that any decision had been made.
Nonetheless, skilled American military contractors will be allowed to work inside Ukraine after administration approval. The first weapon system to have US contractor maintenance help will likely be the F-16 Falcon fighters expected to be delivered later this summer. As the CNN report explained, “The White House has been determined to limit both the danger to Americans and the perception, particularly by Russia, that the US military is engaged in combat there.” Regardless of what the White House wants, with US troops providing advice from the US Embassy and US military contractors providing maintenance support in the field, Russia may perceive this as a distinction without a difference.
It’s not surprising that most observers of US policy toward supporting Ukraine are confused. The indeterminate pace at which the Biden administration supplies Ukraine with critical weapon systems and the restrictions levied on the use of those weapons guarantees the Russian invaders will not experience the equipment’s full capability. Nonetheless, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin does not appreciate the nuances of Biden’s conditions for using US-provided weapons. “The Kremlin on Monday [June 3] said the US could face ‘fatal consequences’ if it ignores Moscow’s warnings that Ukraine should not use weapons provided by Washington to attack Russia,” Politiconoted.
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