By Stephen Collinson,
WASHINGTON US
Western leaders are grappling with how far to escalate their military aid to Ukraine as the Russian invasion seems headed for a brutal new turn, a decision that may rest on whether the West's goal is to push for a total defeat of President Vladimir Putin.
Oleg, 56, mourns for his mother Inna, 86, killed during the war against Russia in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP Photo) |
Heroic resistance from
Ukrainian troops, with the help of Western anti-tank and anti-aircraft
missiles, has already claimed a famous victory the saving of Kyiv and the
government of President Volodymyr Zelensky. But now, Russia has named a new
general to lead what has been a chaotic war effort and is grouping its forces
in eastern Ukraine for a fearsome, concentrated assault that could stretch
Ukraine's outnumbered forces as never before.
The shift of strategy is
forcing Western leaders to consider their own willingness to provide more
offensive armaments to Kyiv ahead of what is shaping up to be a vicious battle
that could dictate how much of Ukraine survives as a nation-state.
Pressure on the West to do
more is being exacerbated by the fact that Russia's new approach augurs yet
more carnage for the civilians that it has been deliberately targeting with a
vicious war plan.
As Washington evaluates how to
respond to Russia's latest maneuvers, there were sighs of relief in the US
capital as French President Emmanuel Macron prevailed in the first round of the presidential
election. But the survival in office of a key member of the Western
leadership coalition will only be assured if he can beat the runner-up,
far-right candidate Marine Le Pen -- a long-time Putin sympathizer -- in the
tight campaign that will play out ahead of the second round in two weeks.
New questions for the West
about how best to bolster Ukraine's resistance follow a skittishness in
Washington earlier in the war about antagonizing Putin with, for example, the
transfer of Soviet-era jets from NATO states like Poland to Ukraine. More
recently, the US has signaled it is willing to help its partners to get
Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine. And Britain promised a robust package of arms
following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's dramatic visit to Kyiv on
Saturday.
Decisions on exactly what kind of weapons to provide could depend on the end game the West sees in the country, especially after Zelensky's increasingly caustic appeals for more offensive weaponry following the discovery of atrocities against Ukrainian civilians when Russian forces pulled back from Kyiv.
Cemetery workers remove a body from a mass grave, for identification in a morgue, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP Photo) |
President Joe Biden's national
security adviser Jake Sullivan gave the impression on CNN's "State of the
Union" on Sunday that Washington's policy would follow Kyiv's lead. But he
also implied that broader US assistance and unprecedented sanctions on Russia's
economy were also designed to better position Ukraine for any future ceasefire
talks -- despite the failure of such efforts so far, given that there is little
sign Putin is serious about a de-escalation.
"This is not a story of
anyone standing by," Sullivan told CNN's Jake Tapper. "We are taking
aggressive action in an effort to both help the Ukrainians succeed on the
battlefield and help the Ukrainians have the best possible position at the
negotiating table."
But Republican Rep. Liz Cheney
gave voice to a faction in Washington that says the US should be doing far
more, though the Wyoming congresswoman is not advocating the dispatch of US
troops to Ukraine. Western leaders have been concerned about igniting direct
conflict with Russia amid fears of a nuclear escalation.
"We should not be talking
about, as Jake Sullivan did just now, improving Zelensky's position at the
negotiating table," Cheney said, also on CNN's "State of the
Union."
"This is about defeating Russian forces in Ukraine. It's about much more than Ukraine," Cheney said, calling for shipments of tanks, artillery and armored equipment to be sent to the country. "We need to be doing much more, more quickly." - CNN
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