The Biden task force is investigating the issue of US tech ending up in Iranian drones
The Russian Army: Providing the Future of Warfare and Providing Opportunity for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Cold War Era. A Discussion with Petraeus
Petraeus: The future of warfare is not possible in Ukraine with a few exceptions. In large measure, it is what we would have seen had the Cold War turned hot in the mid-1980s – with largely Cold War weapons systems (albeit with some modernization).
To get those systems as quickly as possible and also as effectively as possible, we must ensure that they are trained on them, so we have the ability to maintain them. The Secretary of Defense in Ramstein, Germany, has started a process whereby he meets to make sure the Ukrainians get what they need when they need it.
The US has provided Ukrainians with multiple launch rocket systems that are guided, but the US also gave Ukrainians Army Tactical Missile Systems which have a longer range than the US has provided.
It’s not just the equipment that’s important. He said that it’s about how you use equipment, how you link things together to create battlefield effects that create opportunities.
“At every stage of conflict, we have adapted to make sure the Ukrainians had what they needed to be successful – and they have,” a senior administration official said. “We have adapted, they have adapted.”
The Wartime Violation of Ukraine’s Relations with the United States (EUS) and the Prospects for a National Security Assistance Plan
Mr. Zlatev and his business partner took their first stab at international arms dealing. Contract documents and other records obtained by The New York Times show that the deal relied on layers of middlemen and transit across seven countries. It’s in a legal gray area, trying to skirt the arms-export rules of other countries.
The process of Ukraine requesting weapons from the US has come a long way since the harried first days of Russia’s invasion, when Ukraine’s government was pleading for anything they could get their hands on and the US worried about the prospect of Russia occupying the whole country – and hauling off valuable US equipment. Multiple regular channels now exist and all are filtered through the Pentagon.
The new announcement will add to the nearly $20 billion in US security assistance provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, and will come at the same moment US lawmakers are considering a sweeping government spending measure that includes an additional $45 billion in emergency assistance to the country.
The administration official said Biden discussed Zelensky visiting Washington during a call with the Ukrainian leader on December 11. A week ago Zelensky accepted the invitation and began consultations on the security parameters of the trip.
The wartime visit is meant to show that the continued American commitment to Ukrainian is not in doubt at a time when Biden’s ability to maintain support at home and abroad is being tested.
Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday that the United States would continue to prioritize sending air defense systems to help the Ukrainians defend themselves against Russian aggression.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said its Leopard 2s will reach Ukraine by the end of March, while UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the Challenger 2s should be provided to Kyiv “this side of the summer.” The deputy Pentagon Press Secretary said that the deliveries of the Abrams tanks will take months.
Zelensky said in a video message Tuesday that 20 of 28 missiles fired at Ukraine that morning had been shot down. Ukrainian officials have told CNN that more than half the Russian cruise missiles fired on Monday and Tuesday were brought down: 65 out of 112.
Over the weekend, Russian drone strikes on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa plunged more than 1.5 million people in the region into darkness. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the strikes by Russia, part of a nationwide assault on Ukraine’s energy grid, had left the region in a “very difficult” situation, warning that it would take days, not hours, to restore power to civilians.
Noisily, but that may be all. The latest comments from the Russian President are watched by Kremlin watchers who try to determine whether the US weapons deliveries improve the position of Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday the latest tranche “leads to an aggravation of the conflict and does not bode well for Ukraine.”
Zelensky would object to negotiations with the country attacking Ukraine on a daily basis, and Putin had shown no willingness to even negotiate with the Ukrainians. The US has shifted its messaging strategy in order to make sure that the international support for the Ukrainian army is long-term.
The administration is doubtful that additional aid will be approved this fiscal year. They believe the $45 billion will be the last major package of Ukraine aid before the current spending package expires on September 30.
Militia Invasion In Ukraine During the First Two Years of World War II: President Barack Obama, the Pentagon, and the Air Force
Kirby told Kate that it was clear that he was feeling the pressure at home and overseas.
Biden warned about the dangers of Putin’s nuclear threats, mentioning the possibility of “Armageddon.” But multiple US officials have said the comment was not based on any new intelligence about Putin’s intentions or changes in Russia’s nuclear posture.
Until more arrive, there is the risk – all too familiar to the government and people of Ukraine – that the Russian mix of missiles will wreak much greater havoc among the civilian population, especially if the Russians persist with the tactic of using swarms of missiles, inundating air defenses.
Russia was considered to be the lowest on cruise missiles by the Pentagon at the time, however Moscow had more than half of its pre-war inventory.
The great unknown is just how far such a blitz is depleting Russian inventories – and whether increasingly they will resort to stocks of older, less accurate but equally powerful missiles.
The S-300, normally used for air defense, has now been adapted as an offensive weapon by the Russians. They make them hard to intercept, and they’ve wreaked havoc in places like Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv. They are not accurate.
Now, Ukraine is trying to defend a power grid that reaches every part of the country. According to Edmonds, there are more sites to protect.
He told CNN’s Richard Quest that this was the “first time from the beginning of the war” that Russia has “dramatically targeted” energy infrastructure.
There is a secret to Ukraine’s losses. But pilots and air crew in the Sikorsky Brigade have all lost close friends to Russian SAMs (Surface to Air Missiles). The missiles can send a helicopter into the air in less than one second.
Military analysts say that exploding drones are a new class of weapon that is likely to become a staple of modern armed conflicts. Ukrainian officials have been trying to get air defense assistance from their allies. If Ukraine can learn to shoot the drones down with its three-pronged effort, allied countries’ militaries could reap the benefits of this hard-won experience, Mr. Sak said.
Yermak said the drones were Shahed models, known for crashing into the targets with explosive payloads. Russia ordered over 2,400 drones from Iran, which overwhelms Ukrainian air defense systems. Ukraine’s Air Force claims to have shot down 11 drones.
Ukraine’s wish-list – circulated at Wednesday’s meeting – included missiles for their existing systems and a “transition to Western-origin layered air defense system” as well as “early warning capabilities.”
The system is widely considered one of the most capable long-range weapons to defend airspace against incoming ballistic and cruise missiles as well as some aircraft. It can potentially shoot down Russian missiles and aircraft if they are far away from the intended targets.
Western systems are beginning to trickle in other places. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday that a “new era of air defense has begun” with the arrival of the first IRIS-T from Germany, and two units of the US National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAM) expected soon.
“This is only the beginning. The item #1 on the agenda for today isStrengthening Ukraine’s air defense, and it is something that I will be raising with our donors at the meeting. Being optimistic.
But these are hardly off-the-shelf-items. The IRIS-T had to be made in Ukranian. Western governments have limited inventory of such systems. And Ukraine is a very large country under missile attack from three directions.
Kiev Air Defense Commandant Vladimir Zaluzhnyi, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, Joint Commander-in-Chirv of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and a Photo of “G
General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the top military commander of the Ukranian army, thanked Poland for their assistance in training an air defense battalion that destroyed nine Shaheeds.
He said Poland had given the Ukranian people equipment to destroy drones. There were reports last month that the Polish government was buying advanced Israeli equipment and was transferring it to Ukraine, despite Israel’s policy not to sell defensive technology to Kyiv.
Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said at least two Russian airstrikes targeted downtown Kyiv. The city was also hit by two more.
Several residential buildings were damaged. He added that rescuers pulled 18 people from the rubble of one building and are looking for two more. Most of the city’s central streets are closed for emergency services to respond to.
The enemy can attack us, but it won’t break us. The occupiers will get only fair punishment and condemnation of future generations, and we will get victory,” wrote Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sullivan and Milley also hold regular joint calls with top Zelensky adviser Andriy Yermak and Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces. These calls give Sullivan and Milley a chance to get the latest reports from the battlefield and assess the Ukrainian military’s needs.
Klitshchko posted a photo of shrapnel labeled “Geran-2,” Russian’s designation for the Iranian drones, but he removed the picture after commenters criticized him for confirming a Russian strike.
The European Parliament’s high-energy diplomacy summit in Yuri, Russia, concludes with a warning on the use of drones in combat
The European Union foreign ministers are in Luxembourg. Before the meeting, Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told reporters that the bloc would look into “concrete evidence” of Iran’s involvement in Ukraine.
Most of the fighter jets in Ukraine are from the Soviet era. Ukraine employs them in combat, but sparingly. “What the Russians have learned is that this is a war where it’s much more sustainable to use unmanned assets, whether those unmanned assets are drones or missiles,” said Grieco. This Russian tactic is making the Ukraine make a difficult choice. Ukraine has a limited number of air defense missiles, which it’s been using to take down Russian drones. Yet Russia gets these drones from Iran, perhaps for as little as $20,000. Russia is favored by the cost-benefit ratio. If Ukraine exhausts its supply of missiles while targeting Russian drones and missiles, that could clear the way for Russian pilots in fighter jets to return to Ukraine, with a greatly reduced threat of being shot down.
This year, Yuri has racked up more than 100 combat missions with a more experienced co-pilot. He says that all they have are pilots who fly old helicopters. We can fulfill tasks better if we have new machines. We would support the infantry better during combat, and of course there would be fewer casualties. The system that protects the helicopter is much better in the west.
After colliding with the airborne debris, he said, Karaya steered his MiG away from Vinnytsia and ejected. The jet crashed into houses in an outlying area, but injured nobody on the ground. Karaya apologized to the site.
NPR’s State of Ukraine: The Last Stand Towards a Peaceful End State in the Ukrainian-occupied City of Kherson
He said that he went to the scene and apologized for his actions, and he showed up in his tattered uniform with missing epaulets. He thought that it was a violation of military protocol. He said he lost them while leaving the office.
Anticipation is mounting for a possible battle in Kherson, a Russian-occupied city. Kremlin-installed officials have been evacuating civilians in preparation for a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Many Republicans, including some 2024 hopefuls, have argued aid to Ukraine should be scaled back or cut off as the war stretches on. This year it is expected to be more difficult for the House to pass additional funding packages for Ukranian.
Also Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Before it can join NATO, Sweden needs certain conditions to be met, according to Erdogan.
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday is scheduled to discuss an International Atomic Energy Agency report, in which Ukraine is expected to be on the agenda.
Russia rejoined a U.N.-brokered deal to safely export grain and other agricultural goods from Ukraine, on Nov. 2. A few days before, Moscow had halted part of the deal due to Ukrainian attacks on its Black Sea ships.
The massive influx of weapons, ammunition and armor sent by the United States and other countries over the past few months was intended, in large part, to help Ukraine secure battlefield gains that could strengthen its position at a to-be-determined negotiating table with Russia.
You can read past recaps here. More of NPR’s coverage can be found here. Listen and subscribe to NPR’s State of Ukraine for daily updates during the day.
He is not rushing to negotiate with Russia or press the Ukrainian President. One official said that Zelensky was one of Milley’s thoughts. “It’s a discussion around a pause in the fighting towards a political end state.”
The Ukrainians have made it clear that they believe this war will end at the negotiating table. The Russians occasionally have voiced that same sentiment,” Price said, before laying the burden of proof on Putin.
Milley’s push for peace has spilled into the public in recent days, just as Ukraine takes back the city of Kherson. In comments at the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday, Milley praised the Ukrainian army for fighting Russia to a stalemate, but said that an outright military victory is out of reach.
Administration officials were unsurprised by the comments, but they also worried about the administration in the eyes of the Kremlin as Milley advocated for the position internally.
But by not visiting Ukraine, Biden would have been implicitly admitting that there were some things that Putin could prevent him from doing – in effect showing US weakness.
The State Department is the opposite pole from Milley, the White House, or the Kremlov-McKinnon and the Ukrainians
In internal deliberations, officials said Milley has sought to make it clear that he is not urging a Ukrainian capitulation, but rather that he believes now is an optimal time to drive toward an end to the war before it drags into spring or beyond, leading to more death and destruction without changing the front lines.
But that view is not widely held across the administration. One official explained that the State Department is on the opposite side of the pole from Milley. That dynamic has led to a unique situation where military brass are more fervently pushing for diplomacy than US diplomats.
Milley’s position comes as the US military has dug deep into US weapons stockpiles to support the Ukrainians and is currently scouring the globe for materials to support Ukraine heading into winter – such as heaters and generators – which has raised concerns about how long this war can be sustained, officials said.
A US official told a news conference that the US plans to buy 100,000 rounds of South Korean arms for Ukraine, as part of a broader effort to find weaponry for the high-intensity battles being waged in the country. The 100,000 rounds of howitzer ammunition bought by the US will then be sent to Ukraine through the US.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price would not say Thursday whether the State Department agrees with Milley’s position. Price ignored the fact that the US sides with Zelensky who said that a diplomatic solution is needed.
“The onus remains on Moscow to demonstrate not only through word but also in deed that it is ready to negotiate, it is ready to meet what the world has very clearly heard from our Ukrainian partners, and that they are ready and willing to sit down and engage in good faith.”
“The United States is going to be with Ukraine for as long as it takes in this fight,” Sullivan said in a recent visit to Ukraine. We will not be wavering, we will not be flinching in our support as we go forward.
This wouldn’t be the first time modifications have been made to US systems to get them to Ukraine. In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that some components of the anti-aircraft missiles were removed by using screws. That was enough for the US to be able to ship them out.
“There are specific and very technical tweaks and neutering that can be done to these that may make it possible in the nearer term,” a congressional official said. Those things are very complex and take time.
U.S. drones in war zones: a personal appeal to the US or Ukraine? The case of Draganfly, an air defense contractor in Ukraine
A US official confirmed that the Army is leading the efforts to study what changes are possible to the drone, which is made by General Atomics and referred to in the Army as the MQ-1C.
On the Ukrainian side, drones are playing a growing role in non-combat operations. Consider the Canadian-U.S. company, Draganfly, which has been making drones for civilian use since the 1990s. Chell said it never did work in a war zone until last year.
The discussions over the Gray Eagle are still on and it has not been ruled out or denied by the US or the Ukrainians. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon declined the request from Ukraine.
In December, after months of pressure by the Ukrainians, the US agreed to send a Patriot air defense battery, an air defense battery it once considered too challenging to transfer and operate.
Pentagon spokesman Colonel Roger Cabiness would not comment specifically on the Gray Eagle, saying only that the Department of Defense continues to consult with Ukraine on security assistance.
At the same time, Ukraine has continued to press for newer and more sophisticated weapons, including longer-range missile systems and fighter jets, requests the US has denied previously. Zelensky hoped a personal appeal would sway Biden, during his surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday.
It is a scenario the US has recently been dealt with. The US was able to investigate the crash of the Iranian drones after they were shot down.
The US official declined to elaborate on what technology on the Gray Eagle is the most sensitive but said they wouldn’t be considered escalatory since similar capabilities are being provided.
The CSIS says that the technology in question centers on the intelligence capabilities and sensors, which it says is related to the conflict with Russia.
He said that those will be far away from the frontlines. They can collect intel from a distance if they fire from a distance, so I don’t think you need them up close.
The US has committed more than 1,000 drones for Ukraine as part of a $400 million package. They are a lot smaller than the Gray Eagle.
Europeans have had similar experiences. According to French and Dutch leaders, neither country has received a request from the Ukrainian government to send fighter jets.
They are still being considered, three people familiar with the discussions say. Whether that means US warplanes or Soviet-origin fighters like the Mig-29 is a key part of the conversation. The US could ask a country like Poland to give Ukraine Mig-29s and backfill Poland with American jets.
This is bullshit and what type of response might we have? The official from Ukranian asked. “They drop a nuclear bomb, or what we are afraid of? I don’t understand.
In Washington, the attacks were a game-changer. President Joe Biden directed the Pentagon to find a way to get a missile defense system for Ukrainians after being so incensed at the threat to civilians.
The Pentagon’s plan still needs to be approved by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin before it is sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. The three officials told CNN that approval is expected.
The Defense Security Forces of Ukraine: The U.S. Army and a Warfare Countermeasure against Russian Attacks on Ukraine in the Fourth Ukrainian Parliament
It is not clear how many missile launchers will be sent but a typical Patriot battery includes a radar set that detects and tracks targets, computers, power generating equipment, an engagement control station and up to eight launchers, each holding four ready to fire missiles.
“Normal training courses for Patriot consist [of] 10 months,” he says, but Ukrainian troops will train with military in the U.S. for “probably 10 weeks.”
The question of manpower might be the biggest obstacle. About 90 positions are typically assigned to operate one missile battery. And the training needed is substantial; course lengths range from 13 weeks for a launching station operator to 53 weeks for a maintenance role, according to Army recruitment materials.
A way for the US to help NATO allies such as Poland against the Russian invasion was by sending missile batteries to Poland.
WASHINGTON — The United States is poised to approve sending its most advanced ground-based air defense system to Ukraine, responding to the country’s urgent request to help defend against an onslaught of Russian missile and drone attacks, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III could approve a directive as early as this week to transfer one Patriot battery already overseas to Ukraine, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Final approval would be given by President Biden.
The White House, Pentagon and State Department are unwilling to comment on details of the upcoming transfer of the most advanced weapons the US has supplied to Ukraine.
In a speech to the Group of 7 nations on Monday, Mr. Zelensky thanked the countries for their continued support but listed financing for weapons first among his requests.
Lawmakers plan for Zelensky to visit Capitol Hill to speak on Wednesday night, though it remains to be seen how security will be handled. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t confirm reports Zelensky would be coming to the Capitol on Wednesday, saying, “I don’t know that that’s going to happen.”
Zelensky met with soldiers and handed out awards, according to his office. Video posted by state TV showed the president clad in fatigues and a flak vest presenting awards to troops. Russian forces launched their attack on the city in May and turned it into a rubble, turning it into the most ferocious fighting in the country.
Vladimir Zelensky meets with the US and meets with his counterpart in Kyiv during a high-energy summit on June 23rd
Pelosi has been reaching out to members to show up in the Capitol on Wednesday so that the chamber won’t be empty before the holiday break, one member said. Pelosi asked for members to be at the meeting because of a special focus on Democracy.
Zelensky will address Congress on Wednesday, according to several sources. But the sources caution that this may not be final yet over security concerns.
The highly secretive visit – which took place as air raid sirens could be heard ringing out around Kyiv while Biden walked alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky around the gold-domed St. Michael’s Cathedral – comes at a critical moment in the 12-month conflict, with Russia preparing for an expected spring offensive and Ukraine hoping to soon retake territory.
The official said that Zelensky, who was very keen to visit the US, determined those parameters met his needs and the US would work to execute them. The trip was finally confirmed on Sunday.
Zelensky flew aboard a US military aircraft from his country, but US officials refused to give more details about security for the trip. It has been very difficult to get in and out of the country. Western leaders who have visited Kyiv over the past year have journeyed on a lengthy train ride from Poland.
The Iranian drone task force (TST) in Ukraine has banned the use of commercially available technology, citing an investigation by the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The task force has a lot of work to do in tracing supply chains for the microelectronics industry, because they rely a lot on third party distributors. The microchips and other small devices ending up in so many of the Iranian and Russian drones are not only inexpensive and widely available, they are also easily hidden.
Iran has been prevented from obtaining high-end materials by the US because of their export control restrictions and sanctions, but there is strong evidence that they are using commercially available technology.
Among the components found in some of the drones are processors built by the Dallas-based technology company Texas Instruments, according to an investigation by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a source familiar with the US inquiry, as well as an engine made by an Austrian firm owned by Canada’s Bombardier Recreational Products. Both companies have condemned any use of their technology for illicit purposes.
John Kirby, a National Security Council official stated earlier this month that the US would sanction three Russian companies involved in acquiring and using the Iranian drones and was assessing further steps to restrict Iran’s access to sensitive technologies.
Texas Instruments said in a statement to CNN that “TI is not selling any products into Russia, Belarus or Iran. TI is in compliance with laws and regulations in many countries where we operate, as well as with law enforcement organizations. Additionally, we do not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren’t designed for. ”
The investigation has intensified in recent weeks amid intelligence obtained by the US that the Kremlin is preparing to open its own factory for drone production inside Russia as part of a deal with Iran, the officials said.
CNN reported that Iran has begun transferring components and blueprints for drones to Russia in order to build them in that country.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/21/politics/iranian-drones-russia-biden-task-force-us-tech-ukraine/index.html
The Iran Task Force: Supply Chain Monitoring and the Role of Western Companies in U.S. Trade and Investment Deals with the Middle East
Agencies across Washington are involved in the task force, including the departments of Defense, State, Justice, Commerce and Treasury, with one official describing the inquiry as an “all hands on deck” initiative. The effort is being overseen by the White House National Security Council as part of an even bigger, “holistic approach” to dealing with Iran, a senior administration official said, from its crackdown on protesters and its nuclear program to its deepening role in the war in Ukraine.
The White House thinks it is making a difference in the issue with allies. The senior administration official told CNN that there was “growing broad and deep international consensus on Iran, from the EU to Canada to Australia and New Zealand, which is being led by US diplomacy.”
The task force has been difficult because of the fact that there isn’t any evidence that western companies are exporting their technology to be used in drones.
It makes supply chain monitoring a challenge, even though experts say more can be done to track where their products are going.
The former chief technology officer at the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said American companies should do a lot more to track their supply chains.
The task of keeping better track of the reselling companies is difficult because many of the products they sell are commoditized and online for civil purposes. Ultimately, neutering some Iranian front companies with sanctions and cutting off their supply from some western companies will be akin to “a game of whack a mole,” Alperovitch said, noting that they “can easily find another supplier.”
He said that the real weakness in US policy when it comes to export controls is enforcement and prosecuting the people involved in the illegal transactions.
He said that if companies were placed on the list, it didn’t really mean much if they didn’t go after the people involved.
The War on Weak Arms: The Case for a New US Air Defense System and the Phenomenology of the Cold War
He tells NPR he’s hoping for fast-track training, which he says is what’s planned for the Patriot air defense missiles the U.S. promised President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in December. The US started training the Ukrainians at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
The second are precision-guided munitions for Ukrainian jets. Russia and Ukraine have a lot of dumb weapons that are fired towards a target. Western standards of precision weapons such as Howitzers and HIMARIS have been given to the country of Ukraine.
But Moscow is struggling to equip and rally its conventional forces, and, with the exception of its nuclear forces, appears to be running out of new cards to play. China and India have joined the West in open statements against the use of nuclear force, which has made that option even less likely.
Western analysts have observed that Russia has complained about these deliveries but has not really reacted in ways that would suggest they are being crossed a red line.
This is not easy. Kevin McCarthy, who is most likely to be the new Speaker of Congress, warned that the Biden administration won’t get a blank cheque from the House of Representatives.
The remnants of the Trumpist “America First” elements of that party have echoed doubts about how much aid the US should really be sending to the edges of eastern Europe.
The cost of defeating Russia in this long and dark conflict is a light one for the US given its trillion-dollar defense budget.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/21/europe/biden-weapons-deal-analysis-intl/index.html
Putting a Bubble Over Ukraine: How the U.S. and its Allies Are Using the Patriot System to Defend Ukraine
He is an inspiring rhetorician, and – as a former reality TV star turned unexpected president – the embodiment of how Putin’s war of choice has turned ordinary Ukrainians into wartime heroes.
“You can’t deprive an entire country of its electrical grid and water if you want to,” said Jeffrey Edmonds, who worked for 22 years in the Army and is now employed by the Center for New American Security. “I think they see that as a necessary step to help Ukrainians sustain themselves in the fight.”
Patriot arrays are used around the world by the U.S. Army and about a dozen U.S. allies. It was originally designed to be an anti-aircraft system, and newer versions are used to engage missiles.
The strike range of a Patriot battery is limited to a maximum of 100 miles because it’s too small to cover the entire ofUkraine, which is 800 miles from east to west and 500 miles from north to south.
“That will do a good job of defending maybe a single city, like Kyiv, against some threats. Mark Cancian, the senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that it wasn’t putting a bubble over Ukraine.
Even on a compressed schedule, the training requirements mean that the Patriot system is unlikely to be operational until late winter or early spring, perhaps in February or March.
Cancian said that hasty training may hurt the system’s effectiveness in a worst-case scenario, which would mean that Russians could destroy it. It could damage the political will to provide assistance toUkraine in the future.
“If the Ukrainians had a year or two to assimilate the system, that wouldn’t be any problem. The problem is they don’t have a year or two. Cancian said that the people want to do this in a couple weeks.
Russia’s air campaign initially appeared to be straight from the norm. Russia sent waves of pilots in advanced fighter jets to bomb Ukraine. The near universal assumption was Russia’s powerful air force would quickly overwhelm Ukraine’s much smaller force and establish air superiority.
The recent Russian airstrike barrages and ongoing assault on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure have turned up pressure on the U.S. and its allies to do more.
In addition to the Patriot battery, the new aid package announced Wednesday also includes additional HIMARS ammunition, mortars, artillery rounds and tens of thousands of GRAD rockets and tank ammunition.
U.S. Rep. Zelensky Had to Give up Territory and Soil to End the War: Indications of a Cold War to End Ukraine
The announcement was seen as a sign of concern by U.S. officials about Ukraine’s air defense capability.
At $4 million apiece, the PAC-3 missiles that accompany the Patriot are much more expensive than Stingers or the missiles launched by HIMARS. They are costly enough that Ukrainians must be judicious in how they are used, analysts said. “You can’t just let these things fly,” said Cancian.
“If you have an Iranian Shahed uncrewed system headed towards the critical infrastructure in Ukraine, it may very well be worth the cost of a patriot missile to destroy it,” he said. It makes sense to me that the move is being made because of the Russian onslaught against Ukrainian critical infrastructure.
“That’s a terrible choice to face, between the natural urge to protect your civilians from these brutal attacks and trying to ensure that you have the long-term military wherewithal to continue to resist the Russian war effort,” Greico said.
Zelensky’s green sweatshirt was covered in symbolism, from the Ukrainian battle flag on the House floor to the blue-and-yellow striped tie Biden wore.
The new phase is more than just on the battlefield. Around the world, leaders are confronting the bitter fallout of Russia’s invasion. Higher energy and food prices, in part generated by tough sanctions on Moscow, have caused trouble for politicians in Europe and the United States.
Zelensky departed Washington for a long and risky return trip to Ukraine, and it wasn’t clear that a path to ending the conflict was any more clear.
He said he doesn’t see a road for peace that involves Ukraine giving up territory or sovereignty.
In earlier meetings, Zelensky had also asked if the White House could devote some members of the US team to help further develop a 10-point peace proposal he first unveiled last year. Yet that work remains ongoing, and there was little talk of peace talks during Biden’s trip this week.
For his part, Biden said it was up to Zelensky to “decide how he wants to the war to end,” a long-held view that leaves plenty of questions unanswered.
Zelensky’s address to the legislature included references to some of American history, including the Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War and the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
He delivered his address in English, a purposeful choice he telegraphed ahead of the speech. Even his attire – the now-familiar Army green shirt, cargo pants and boots – seemed designed to remind his audience they were in the presence of a wartime leader.
U.S. response to the Ukrainian war crime: from the Russian airfields to the Kremlin – the Zelensky perspective
Zelensky has demonstrated an ability to appeal to his audience during the conflict, from national legislatures to the audience of theGrammys.
On Wednesday he wanted to evoke the emotion of Americans when they heard that Russia was trying to interrupt Ukraine’s power supply.
We will be celebrating Christmas in two days. Maybe candlelit. Not because it’s more romantic, no, but because there will not be – there will be no electricity,” he said.
Many Americans have wondered aloud why billions of US dollars are needed for a conflict thousands of miles away. He sought to make the cause about more than his own homeland.
Yet it doesn’t take much to see tensions just beneath the surface. Zelensky has consistently agitated for additional US support, despite the tens of billions of dollars in military assistance that Biden has directed to his country.
Biden and his team have not always been pleased with that. Biden has a reputation forTranslation physical proximity into a better understanding of his counterpart as he has with other foreign leaders.
“It is all about looking someone in the eye. I mean it very sincerely. He feels there is no alternative to face to face with a friend or foe.
He said it was important for the world to hear directly from the President about the fighting in Ukraine.
“If the Russians thought that no one at home would be affected by the war, then they were deeply mistaken,” Colonel Ihnat said. He stated that the bombing campaign against Ukraine was complicated by the explosions at Russian airfields, forcing Moscow to relocate some of its aircraft.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told The Associated Press on Monday that his government wanted to hold a “peace summit,” hopefully mediated by the United Nations’ secretary general, António Guterres, by late February, but that Russia could not be invited unless it first faced prosecution for war crimes. The latest claims of each country to be open to peace talks, but only on terms that the other can’t live with, is just the latest in a series.
Biden affirmed the new commitment in a telephone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday. Germany will also send Ukraine new fighting vehicles, along with a Patriot missile battery to protect against Russian air attacks.
The Bradley fighting vehicle, which moves on tracks rather than wheels, can hold around 10 troops and is used to transport personnel into battle. The White House states that the US and Germany would give training to the Ukrainian forces.
Zelensky’s War on Crime and Security: A Republican-Like Congressional Warning against New U.S. Military Assistance to Ukraine
Those systems had been at the top of Zelensky’s wish list because it will allow his military to target Russian missiles flying at a higher altitude than they were able to target previously.
The largest reduction of US military assistance to Ukraine was announced on Friday by the Biden administration, but there were still concerns that Republicans in Washington might block the aid in the future.
Blinken said the administration would work with Congress to “to provide an additional $907 million of Foreign Military Financing under the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022.”
Kevin McCarthy, who is the Speaker of the House, has warned against giving aid to Ukraine when the US is in debt.
Several Republican members who switched their votes to support McCarthy on Friday said they are encouraged by a framework of an agreement, but provided no specifics about the deal and said talks are ongoing.
It was higher than President Biden wanted but it was also a reflection of Democrats concern that additional funding wouldn’t be forthcoming in a GOP-led House. The White House had a belief that that number would sustain US support for several months, in some ways it was an insurance policy against Republican resistance.
Rules changes to the budgetary process could significantly hamper Congress’ ability to pass new aid come September and certain conservative Republicans have vowed to oppose any new Ukraine funding.
Concerns have been raised about the risks of problems on Capitol Hill. Republican and Democratic supporters of Ukraine are worried about maintaining public support for U.S. aid.
The diplomat said that this was a wake up call for a lengthy legislative paralysis because the Freedom Caucus, which is not particularly pro-Ukrainian, has just demonstrated its clout.
Russia’s Cold War with Ukraine, the New US Ambassador to Ukraine, and the “Greatest Christmas Present for Ukraine” as declared by the United Nations
Others were watching closely to see how McCarthy would get the role, which could involve cuts to aid.
The diplomat told CNN they were worried about McCarthy giving policy concessions that would affect the US role in the world.
A third diplomat expressed concerns concessions like crucial committee assignments, such as the House Rules Committee, could be given to lawmakers who have advocated against more aid to Ukraine, which could create immense hurdles for passing additional assistance legislation.
Zelensky said it was an ” awesome Christmas present for Ukraine” on Friday. Lawmakers in Ukranian told CNN they are not concerned about the future of assistance because of the public’s support and bipartisanship.
Britain will send more equipment to help counteract a Russian spring offensive. Sunak said the UK would expand training to Ukrainian fighter pilots and marines, while also promising a long-term investment in Ukraine’s military.
The World Economic Outlook is released by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has stressed that the Russia-Ukraine war is a big factor causing economic slowdown and recession in some countries.
A group of European Commission leaders is expected to visit Ukraine on Thursday and European Union leaders plan to hold a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the following day.
In recent weeks, Germany, the United States, and the UK have promised to send Tanks to Ukraine in case of a Russian offensive that is expected to begin in the spring.
Ukraine’s military acknowledged the Russian takeover of Soledar, retreating from the eastern town after a tough battle. Russian forces have continued to assault parts of the eastern Ukrainian region.
At a time of strong tensions between Russia and the US, the new US Ambassador to Russia arrived in Moscow. Tracy was heckled by protesters when she entered the Russian Foreign Ministry to present her credentials.
Estonia and Latvia told Russia’s ambassadors to leave after the Kremlin said it expelled the Estonian ambassador and downgrading relations with the Baltic NATO member state over what it called “Russophobia.”
Training F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine and their role in war-time defense budget dealings with the U.S. Armed Forces
There are training courses that we can do in Europe, according to Reznikov. “It’s more convenient because we have to use a similar landscape and we have to have similar weather conditions.”
For the Leopard tanks, training usually takes half a year. He says that he hopes it will happen in a month or two months.
“I’m sure that’s absolutely realistic,” he says about the F-16s, noting that in the past, Ukraine has also secured other weapons that at first seemed out of reach, including HIMARS and Patriot air defense missiles.
Sullivan stated Thursday evening that the Biden administration doesn’t currently give F-16 fighter jets to Ukrainians and they don’t need them for a counteroffensive against Russian forces.
The argument against giving F-16s is becoming more difficult because senior military leaders have acknowledged in recent days that the weapons would helpUkraine, according to a source familiar.
Before the Russian invasion, most defense ministry expenses were public. Now most are classified for security reasons. During wartime transparency is delicate, but he is working with parliament to make the defense budget semi- transparent.
Zero Tolerance with Corruption: What Is a Model for a New Ukraine? A View from the Ukrainian Prime Minister of the Netherlands
He says that it’s not a piece of cake, but that he will do it. “Because that’s what my principle is – zero tolerance with corruption.” We have to be a new Ukraine, with the European standard, not the old-fashioned Soviet Ukraine with a legacy of corruption.”
According to one of the sources, a top US military commander told a group of Republican legislators how important F-16 fighter jets and longer-range missiles are to serve the Ukrainian cause.
But that push is being met with skepticism by US and allied officials who say the jets would be impractical, both because they require considerable training and because Russia has extensive anti-aircraft systems that could easily shoot them down.
One year ago no one could imagine a US missile system and no one could even imagine an American tank, so the Biden administration decided to give Ukraine the flagship American battle tank.
According to a Ukrainian military official, they need to push for long-range missiles despite the fact that fighter jets are easier.
While there is no indication at this time that flight training is underway, the step suggests the US has not completely closed the door on providing F-16s.
The prime minister of the Netherlands said to reporters on Monday that sending the planes would be a big next step. The Prime Minister of Poland said on Monday that Warsaw would only send fighter jets in full coordination with NATO.
A top Ukrainian national security official has claimed that Russia is preparing for a’maximum escalation’ of the war in Ukraine.
“These will be defining months in the war,” Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told Sky News in an interview broadcast Tuesday.
“Not just on land, but on the sea and in air as well,” Natalia Humeniuk, head of the United Coordinating Press Center of Security and Defense Forces of the South of Ukraine, said on national television.
Air Campaign in the Middle East — a tale of two different wars at the end of the Cold War, and how U.S. drone operations changed
The ministry said that military representatives from the two countries will practice planning the use of troops based on the previous experience of armed conflicts.
This battle is distinct from previous air wars because pilots are rare. This is very much against the idea of air combat.
“Top Gun: Maverick is Oscar-nominated this year for Best Picture. We are watching an air war. “It looks different from anything that we see in Top Gun”, said Kelly Grieco, with the Stimson Center.
There are aircraft that are still flying, and they are piloted. Grieco keeps close tabs on the air war and said that there are a few small number of sorties compared to past wars.
He knows these tenets well. Gersten flew combat missions as an F-16 pilot early in his career, and later commanded U.S. drone operations in the Middle East. There was a prominent role played by drones in the U.S. air campaigns. The U.S. plane pilots played an important part in those conflicts.
An American aid group was trying to get their ambulances into besieged cities when they asked if they could use our drones, according to Chell.
The Battlefield of Ukraine: Preparing for Future Airborne Attacks, a Prime Minister’s Welcome Wishlist, and a Mission to GloryyUa
Zelensky also met with Ukrainian troops being trained by British forces on Wednesday, telling a press conference that his battlefield priority is for Ukraine to obtain more weapons.
In a poignant but carefully crafted move, Zelensky handed the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, the helmet of a Ukrainian fighter pilot, signed with the message: “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”
Zelensky directed his message at Prime Minister Sunak and his Cabinet as they stood in front of him in the historic surroundings of the Palace of Westminster, where Queen Elizabeth II lay in state and US President Obama stood for a similar position.
During a joint press conference, Zelensky said he was “thankful for the spontaneous idea for us to meet and talk” adding that “France and Germany have the potential to be game changers… the sooner Ukraine manages to get long range weapons and modern planes, the stronger our coalitions will be.”
Zelensky was greeted by Sunak at the airport after landing on a UK Royal Air Force plane. Sunak posted a picture of the two of them on the runway. The caption says President ZelenskyGloryyUa will be in the UK.
Zelensky said in a telegram post after his audience with the King that he hoped for peace and prosperity for the British people.
“I am grateful to His Majesty for the warm welcome and for supporting Ukrainian citizens who have taken refuge from the war in the United Kingdom,” Zelensky said.
“We have no way out. We have to stand firm. We need armored vehicles, we need tanks, we need fighter jets, and obviously, we spent a lot of time talking about this together,” said Zelensky, speaking alongside Sunak at Lulworth Camp in Dorset, England.
“Once again, I heard from Mr. Prime Minister the desire to provide fighter jets, and officially he declared they can begin training our pilots,” Zelensky said. The decisions made by Great Britain can’t dictate when it comes to typhoons.
Sunak noted that it takes three years to train a Typhoon fighter pilot from scratch, to which Zelensky responded, “I didn’t even know it takes three years to train a pilot like that. You know, we’ll be sending pilots who’ve already trained for two and a half years.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/08/europe/zelensky-visit-uk-intl-gbr/index.html
U.S. and Russian Defense Secretary Ben Wallace are considering sending fighter jets to Ukraine in the next stage of NATO-Russian warfighting
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is investigating which jets could be given to Ukraine, but no decision has yet been made on whether to give the jets.
The trip was described by the Russian embassy in London as a “hasty event,” “theatrical performance,” and a “fundraising event” by mocking Zelensky.
“We would like to remind London: in the event of such a scenario the death toll of yet another round of escalation, as well as and its military-political consequences for the European continent and the whole world will be on the United Kingdom’s hands,” the embassy said.
A UK package targets entities that provide military equipment such as drones, as well as individuals and entities that are connected to financial networks that can help maintain wealth and power amongst Kremlin elites.
According to UK government data, the UK government has imposed sanctions on hundreds of Russians since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise Europe tour, meeting leaders in London, Paris and Brussels, and reiterating his call for allies to send fighter jets to Ukraine.
Beyond that, it appears that Russia is massing replacement soldiers and additional units to launch an offensive to take the portions of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in the southeast, that they do not control – while also establishing defensive positions in depth in other areas that they control in the south.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova attended President Biden’s State of the Union speech, for the second year in a row, but the war in Ukraine received far less attention in the address this time.
There’s “strong indication” Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead to supply anti-aircraft weapons to separatists in Ukraine, according to the international team investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014.
Col. Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the armed forces, said in a broadcast that soldiers need to keep building defensive lines. He said that part of the reason for barring civilians from entering was to keep military operations secret.
As a prize, Bakhmut offers little in the way of strategic value for either Moscow or Kyiv. It’s significance comes from the amount of blood spilled.
“Even if Bakhmut were to fall, it would not have a strategic impact on the overall war,” said the National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby. I would go as far as to say that it would not have an influence on the fighting in that area.
Vladimir Petraeus and the Ukraine war in the light of the exit of the U.S. Army from Afghanistan, and their implication for NATO
In Brussels, Western officials deflected questions about whether Ukraine would win its campaign to secure still more powerful weapons to use against its Russian enemy.
Asked in Brussels on Tuesday whether fighter jets had been discussed, Mr. Austin, the American defense secretary, said, “I don’t have any announcement to make today.”
Editor’s Note: Editor’s Note: Peter Bergen is CNN’s national security analyst, a vice president at New America, and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. View more opinion on CNN.
Petraeus: I don’t know As a general observation, I think the developments in Ukraine have to be a cautionary tale for any country around the world contemplating a very challenging military operation – especially if that country’s forces have not engaged in major (or any) combat operations in many decades.
Petraeus, who criticized the Biden administration’s withdrawal of Afghanistan, strikes a different tone on Ukraine. He thinks the President’s team has done a great job leading NATO and the West to counter the Russian invasion but there have been times when he would have liked to have seen quicker decisions to provide certain weapons systems.
Petraeus: It is not Russia, that’s for sure. Russia has lost many battles in Croatia, and failed to take the southern coast of Ukraine (and its port at Odesa), which was the focus of the war.
It has lost a lot of it’s gains in the province. The Ukrainians made it impossible for those forces to cross the Dnipro River, and also took out the headquarters and other sites supporting those forces in Kherson province.
The side generating the most capable, trained and well equipped forces will make the most significant gains. My bet is that Ukrainians will do well in that area.
What We Can Do to Defend Between the Great Powers in the New Millennium: How Russia and Turkey Are positioned to Warfare in the War of the Cold War
Perhaps most notably, of course, we see a war taking place, for the first time, in a context that includes the widespread presence of smart phones, internet connectivity, and social media and other internet sites.
These are only hints of the future of war between advanced powers. In a conflict of such magnitude the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems would be more capable than ever and precision bombs would have greater range, speed and power.
There are vastly more capable systems in every domain, even in the air, sea, sub-sea, ground, and cyberspace.
I recall an adage back in the Cold War days that stated, “If it can be seen, it can be hit; if it can be hit, it can be killed.” In truth, we didn’t have the surveillance assets, precision munitions and other capabilities needed to truly “operationalize” that adage in those days. In the future, if there are any defenses or hardened of those assets, all platforms, bases, and headquarters will be susceptible to being hit and destroyed.
We must transform our forces and systems if we want to be recognized as a civilized nation. In order to deter future conflict, we need to make certain that there is no questions about our capabilities, or willingness to employ them, and that we do everything we can to make sure that competition among great powers doesn’t turn into conflict.
Petraeus doesn’t think they’re right. Russia still has enormous military capacity and is certainly still a nuclear superpower, as well as a country with enormous energy, mineral and agricultural blessings. It also has a population (about 145 million) that is nearly double that of the next largest European countries (Germany and Turkey, each just more than 80 million).
Thanks to Putin, the French President’s description of NATO as suffering from brain death is a bit premature.
All of the above, as well as more. The list is long, including poor campaign design; wholly inadequate training (what were they doing for all those months they were deployed on the northern, eastern, and southern borders of Ukraine?); poor command, control, and communications; inadequate discipline (and a culture that condones war crimes and abuse of local populations); poor equipment (exemplified by turrets blowing off of tanks when fires ignite in them); insufficient logistic capabilities; inability to achieve combined arms effects (to employ all ground and air capabilities effectively together); inadequate organizational architecture; lack of a professional noncommissioned officer corps; a top-down command system that does not promote initiative at lower levels and pervasive corruption that undermines every aspect of their military – and the supporting military-industrial complex.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/14/opinions/petraeus-how-ukraine-war-ends-bergen-ctpr/index.html
How Do We End the Ukraine War? Petraeus: The Indisputable Nation that Leads the Way for Strategic Security and Security in the Cold War
And it is still led by a kleptocratic dictator who embraces innumerable grievances and extreme revanchist views that severely undermine his decision-making.
Bergen: You know the observation sometimes attributed to Stalin: “Quantity has a quality all its own.” Russia has a far bigger population than Ukraine: Will that make a critical difference to the Ukraine war over the long term?
Petraeus: If Putin did well, it could happen. However, to date, the mobilizations have been partial, as Putin seems to fear how the country might respond to total mobilization. More Russian men left the country than reported to the stations, as a result of the partial call-up of reserves.
Nonetheless, it is estimated that as many as 300,000 new recruits and mobilized reservists are being sent to the frontlines, with up to 100,000-150,000 more on the way. And that is not trivial – because quantity does, indeed, matter.
While it is not clear if the same is true of many of the Russian soldiers, it is obvious that Ukrainians know what they are fighting for.
The Ukrainians have demonstrated enormous skill in adapting various technologies and commercial applications to enable intelligence gathering, targeting and other military tasks.
To be sure, there have been times when I have felt that we should have decided to provide various capabilities (e.g., HIMARS, longer-range precision munitions, tanks, etc.) sooner than we have.
Eventually, for example, Ukraine is going to have to transition from eastern bloc aircraft (e.g., MiG-29s) to western ones (e.g., F-16s). At this time there isn’t any more MIGs to give them, and they have more pilots than aircraft.
It will take months to train pilots and maintenance personnel, so we might as well start the process. All that said, again, I think the Administration has done a very impressive job and proven to be the indispensable nation in this particular situation – with important ramifications for other situations around the world.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/14/opinions/petraeus-how-ukraine-war-ends-bergen-ctpr/index.html
The War in Ukraine Is It Really the First Open-Source War? Yukawas vs. Moskva (1905): What Russian Nuclear Forces and Social Media Say About Russia
Bergen: The quasi-private Wagner Group is the force that Putin sends into the meat grinder of the toughest battles. Any thoughts of using mercenaries, many of whom are convicts, as a tactic?
Russia’s decision to use mercenaries is interesting but also inhumane, as it involves throwing soldiers into battle as cannon fodder, and with little or no concern for their survival.
These are not the tactics or practices that, at the end of the day, foster development of well-trained, disciplined, capable, and cohesive units that have trust in their leaders and soldiers on their left and right.
What are the lessons of the Ukrainian people for the Chinese if they were to invade Taiwan over a large body of water, not over a neighboring land border? The Moskva, Russia’s flagship navy ship, was sunk in the Black Sea in 1905, and how the Chinese think about this question is questionable.
If the target of such an operation has a population that is willing to fight for its survival, as well as major powers that will support it with sanctions and export controls, it will be difficult to stage a successful operation.
And it is critical that the leaders of the US and other western nations – and of China and India, as well – convey clearly and repeatedly to Putin that the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons for Russia would, indeed, be “catastrophic,” to quote US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Bergen: Is this the first truly open-source war? The war in Ukraine is being fought in part on social media by Zelensky; commercial overhead satellites capture Russian battle groups moving around in real-time, and the social media accounts of Russian mercenaries in the Wagner Group document what they are doing.
Petraeus: Yes, I believe it is. This is the first war in which smartphones and social media have been so widely available and also so widely employed. Through so-called open sources, a lot of information is available.
The Ukrainian War of Independence and the Reconstruction of the Republic of Ukraine: State of the Art and Prospects for a Possible Future in the Near Future
That said, in the short term, having failed to take control of Kyiv and replace President Zelensky with a pro-Russian figure, Putin is seeking to expand the area of Ukraine controlled by Russian forces. Particularly in the southeastern part of Russia, and to solidify Russian control over the provinces that connect Russia with Crimea in the so-called land bridge, so that Russia does not have to rely solely on the Kerch Strait Bridge for connection with Crimea.
More of the things we have seen in the past will likely be seen in the future if that is not present. To achieve grinding, costly, incremental gains, with occasional limited breakthrough, could be supported by massive shelling and rocket fires to maintain the supply of rounds and rockets.
I think we will see Ukrainian forces that are better suited for offensive operations and able to unhinge some of the Russian defenses, since they are more capable of achieving such a kind of combined arms effects. We may not see all this, however, until the spring or even summer, given the amount of time required for Ukrainian forces to receive and train on the new western tanks and other systems.
You famously asked at the beginning of the Iraq War how this would end. How does the war inUkraine end?
It is Petraeus. When Putin recognizes that the war is not sustainable in the first year and that it has a negative impact on the economy of Russia, I think it will end in a negotiated resolution.
When Ukraine reaches the limits of what missiles and drones it can tolerate, getting a Marshall-like plan (developed by the US and G7) to help rebuild the country, and gaining a security guarantee from NATO, is definitely something that should happen.
CNN sees a helicopter in Bakhmut, Ukraine: a secret base of transport helicopters operating in a war zone in the 1960s
The helicopter’s nose makes the horizon disappear for a moment. As rockets follow brown smoke, there is a faint thump. The aircraft moves so fast that it resembles flicking on its side by an outside force.
Russian soldiers are being torn apart, as the ground explodes when the rockets hit their target in the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut. The effects of the rockets will be passed on to the pilots later. Their task now is to stay alive.
CNN spent time embedded with the Sikorsky Brigade in eastern Ukraine operating from a secret base. It has a handful of helicopters and pilots there, conducting combat missions against Russian forces.
We are always surprised that we are here. The deputy commander of the Sikorsky Brigade states his name and location are military secrets and that they are never going to stop.
Serhiy and Hennady are both middle-aged pilots with more than two decades of flying behind them. They took part in many UN missions in the early 2000s, including in Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The experience, they say, had been invaluable. They got experience flying low and in difficult situations, like the ongoing civil war in theDR, thanks to it.
The Mi-8s in this flight were conceived as transport helicopters in the 1960s, but are now mounted with rockets. Unlike modern, or even Soviet-era attack helicopters, they’ve got no armor to protect the pilots.
Dangerously close to the front line, he could not stay on the ground so, after a quick inspection, took off on his damaged blades. He flew to a rear location where engineers could swap the damaged equipment with three others cannibalized from a different helicopter.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/europe/ukraine-pilots-helicopter-russia-intl-cmd/index.html
Seeking Russian military helicopters with Serhiy: the Ukrainian pilot in Ukraine wants to fly in the Intl-Cmd
Zelensky has requested jets and other aircraft from NATO and other allies. The initial response was close to nil.
The United Kingdom has offered to boost Ukraine’s helicopter fleet with a handful of ancient Sea King aircraft that have been decommissioned from the military. Portugal has given six Russian-made spets, none of which are airworthy and which is what the defense minister of Ukraine said.
For Serhiy, the Ukrainian pilot, the equipment can’t arrive soon enough. We have aircraft from the Soviet era and so we need newer helicopters, he says. We are trying to squeeze everything we can out of them.
His team has set up temporary locations near the front line where they hide fuel and ammunition. Support crews tuck themselves out of sight. Perimeter security exists but it’s invisible.
But he had to wait 24 hours to learn this from Ukrainian drone operators who’d called him in to give him the news. Because by the time his rockets hit the ground, he was racing away below tree height.
“The Russians can find and hit us from more than 30km away. Sometimes we know they can shoot at us or hide in the hills, so we use the radar that can track them.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/europe/ukraine-pilots-helicopter-russia-intl-cmd/index.html
Bereavement and Warfare in the Era of a Cold War: The Case of Alexander Biden and the Death of Serhiy
The pain of bereavement though remains raw. “In December, a very close friend of mine died,” says Serhiy. A lot of people have died. I am very upset and it is very painful.
Biden arrived in Kyiv at 8 a.m. local time after a lengthy, covert journey from Washington and arrived to the Mariinsky Palace half-an-hour later. He left the city in the afternoon.
Biden’s trip to Kyiv was shrouded in secrecy, a reflection of the steep security concerns. Air Force One departed Joint Base Andrews under cover of darkness at 4:15 a.m. ET on Sunday, and reporters aboard the plane were not allowed to carry their devices with them.
Biden is traveling with a small group of people, which includes Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser.
The trip comes ahead of Biden’s planned two-day visit to Poland. The President is scheduled to be in Warsaw on Tuesday where he will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda, the White House said Sunday.
Several of Biden’s top lieutenants, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have also visited the Ukrainian capital to pledge new assistance. Bill Burns, the director of the CIA, visited Kyiv last month.
Even Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, paid a surprise visit on Mother’s Day last year to a small city in the far southwestern corner of Ukraine. She met with Zelenska at a converted school that had been put to use for displaced Ukrainians.
European allies continue to worry that the war could descend into a stalemate as both sides see small gains and losses.
Zelensky may not know what parameters he will accept in peace negotiations, and the US has refused to specify what a settlement would look like if Zelensky agreed to it.
China’s Foreign Ministry Planned for a First-Principles-Enforcement-Based War in the Middle East: Insights from the Pentagon and Russia
American officials told CNN on Saturday the US has recently begun seeing “disturbing” trends and there are signs that Beijing wants to “creep up to the line” of providing lethal military aid to Moscow without getting caught.
US officials have been concerned enough with the intelligence they have seen to share it with allies and partners at the Security Conference in Germany over the last several days.
Wang, who was named Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy adviser last month, is expected to arrive in Moscow this week, in the first visit to the country from a Chinese official in that role since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Wang’s visit will provide an opportunity for China and Russia to continue to develop their strategic partnership and “exchange views” on “international and regional hotspot issues of shared interest” – a catch-all phrase often used to allude to topics including the war in Ukraine.
A growing number of Americans are concerned about how much money has been spent on the war, and some Republican budget hawks want to stop spending so much.
Mark Cancian is an expert in military procurement and has worked at both the Pentagon and the Office of Management and Budget. Either weapons show up in the Middle East where they’re not supposed to be, or a wealthy man is found to suck money from his bank account and is sailing his yacht around the Mediterranean paid for by American taxpayers.
So far, there have not been signs that U.S. aid to Ukraine has ended up in the wrong hands. But the war isn’t over. Ukraine is asking for more support to continue fighting Russia. The rebuilding after the conflict has yet to begin.
“When you spend that much money that fast, there’s bound to be problems, there’s bound to be leakage,” said John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
According to Sopko, a country can only take as much aid as they can afford before things start spilling over into the illegal economy.
Ukraine’s War Fighters Have a Right Right Armed Arms: The U.S. Aid Needs to Be Safe, And When You Can’t Give It Up
You fill your sponge with water by putting it on your kitchen counter. A smooth flow of water with a dash of drips. It holds the water, ” Sopko said. “Then all of a sudden it reaches a certain point, and then all the water starts spreading out from that sponge.”
The most recent congressional funding package built in more funding for oversight of the aid, and Republican leaders have asked for more regular updates on checks and balances on the spending.
One report, released last month, found that there’s a “significant risk of misuse and diversion given the volume and speed of assistance” during the war. In part, because U.S. troops are not allowed in the country, the Defense Department isn’t able to fully monitor the weapons, as per a classified Pentagon report.
The assistant secretary for the State Department’s bureau of political-military affairs said there has been no credible evidence of largescale problems so far.
“We should all be concerned about the possibility of a weapon ending up in the wrong hands outside of Ukraine,” Lewis said. “That is why we have to put all of these things in place.”
U.S. inspectors have been to Ukraine and the defense staff has been increased at the Kyiv embassy, she said. The Ukrainian government has signed detailed security agreements about safeguarding the weapons and not transferring them to third parties.
She said that it was theirs to our own national security. “It’s our responsibility to our war fighters, and it’s our responsibility to the American public to make sure when we transfer a weapon, we are doing so responsibly.”
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/20/1141689717/ukraine-russia-biden-funding
U.S. investment in human resource management in Ukraine isn’t going to make it into NATO, a comment on John Sopko
There are many administration offices doing the oversight reviews for several agencies. John Sopko said he’s worried about a lack of coordination.
He wants a dedicated team for the work and he is worried that the US government will take too long to set that up. He said that the office would have been more effective in Afghanistan if it’d been established earlier in the conflict.
Sopko is particularly worried about economic aid. The U.S. is sending $50 billion to the Ukranian government to help with salaries of officials, police officers and teachers.
“That was the biggest concern of our time in Afghanistan,” he said. “Because the salaries we were paying weren’t going to the right people or weren’t going to people at all … Civil servants, military people and teachers were all ghosts.
The country of Ukraine had a ranking of 116 out of 180 countries for corruption last year. The country’s bid to join the European Union and NATO has been scuttled by the issue.
But, just months before the war started, Biden himself was complaining about corruption, explaining that was why Ukraine wasn’t getting closer to joining the NATO alliance.
“The fact is, they still have to clean up corruption,” Biden said. “The fact is, they have to meet other criteria to get into the action plan. School doesn’t want to ask that question.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/20/1141689717/ukraine-russia-biden-funding
Zelensky’s 2021 case for reforming the Kyiv Administrative District Court: The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine urged to stay united in the country for the sake of national security
President Volodymr Zelenskyy — who was elected to office on an anti-corruption platform — had submitted a bill in early 2021 to close the Kyiv Administrative District Court, long criticized for corruption.
“I think that that’s a pretty good example that corruption can be pretty resilient in Ukraine,” said Steven Pifer, a Clinton-era U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. It took some time. It was finally shut down. And that was a good thing for Ukraine’s justice system.”
A group of officials were dismissed in a corruption scandal last month. In a video address during the scandal, Zelensky stated that we would never return to the lifestyles bureaucrats had gotten used to, to the old way of chasing power.
In Washington, many of the calls for more oversight are coming from Republicans and Democrats who support the war effort. They don’t want to give leverage to those who want to cut assistance.
“We as Democrats — as the White House — I think we should continue to work with these national security Republicans … and their fellow travelers in good faith to not let domestic politics prevent us from staying united behind Ukraine,” said Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass.
It’s also in Biden’s political interests to work with those Republicans. He’s widely expected to make a run for a second term in the 2024 election, and he doesn’t want a Ukraine spending scandal to become an election issue.
Biden’s visit comes as Russian forces make a new push to take control of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, which Russia illegally annexed last September.
Biden said it was important for the U.S. to back up its support for Ukraine.
Ukranian President Joe Biden vs. Putin: Infuriated and Disturbed by the Americans on the State of the Union
The anniversary of the war might have been marked with a Russian military parade and a visit by Putin to a puppet leader under Moscow’s iron fist.
The president of the United States, dressed in an over coat and shades, strolled through the city in the afternoon, taking a tour of the old city with Volodymyr Zelensky.
The wars of the last 20 years in the Middle East gave Americans the idea that Presidents such as President George W Bush and President Barack Obama could travel to Iraq or Afghanistan at night. And while those trips had their own measure of daring and danger, Biden’s visit went a step further – venturing into a foreign capital that is often under air attack and lacks the security offered by large garrisons of American troops and air assets. The US did inform Russia of the plans to visit for “deconfliction purposes,” according to Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“President Biden has claimed the upper hand … and tomorrow Putin will have to reply to what happened today,” Rudik said, referring to a speech in which Putin is expected to rally the Russian people on Tuesday.
Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, complained on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that Washington had taken too long to send game-changing weapons to Ukraine in the past and should not make the same mistake with warplanes. The Texas Republican said that he thought the Biden administration was considering the dispatch of F-16 fighter planes.
A tiring and dangerous journey that took energy and endurance was a jab at critics who wondered if Biden should be thinking about a reelection race at 80.
And like Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this month, his stagecraft infuriated the most extreme wing of the Republican Party, which Biden has said is a danger to US democracy and values. Biden was slammed for journeying to Ukranian and the other GOP figures accused him of caring less about the borders of that country than the US does.
“This is incredibly insulting. It was the President of the United States who chose to force the American people to pay for the conflict in Ukraine on President’s Day. I can not express how much Americans hate Joe Biden,” Greene said in a tweet.
There is nothing more presidential about standing for the freedom and democracy of the United States, as well as the right of a people to fight tyranny imposed at the point of the gun from a more powerful foreign oppressor.
US officials say the process has been driven by the evolving capacities of the Ukrainian military, the needs on the battlefield, and the evolving tactics of Russia. Biden’s overarching goal of maintaining unity in the allied coalition has been a hallmark.
In addition to lower-level military contacts, National security adviser Jake Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley all speak directly with their counterparts multiple times a week.
If a request is made through one of these channels the Pentagon will conduct an assessment of the impact on the battlefield, how quickly the Ukrainians can train and integrate the new weapons, and the impact on US military readiness.
The Russian War on Crime in the Cold Cold Middle East: What the US and Europe can do to help, and what the U.S. needs to do
One senior State Department official said they had “never seen this bureaucracy work as fast as it’s working,” but added, “We all need to do more, faster.”
“The president was obviously outraged about this, as we all were, and really pushed our teams, particularly at the Pentagon, to look at what we could do on our side to help them defend against this problem,” a senior administration official said.
When Russia launched its campaign on civilian infrastructure, Biden was concerned it would leave Ukraine’s air defenses too thin and cause it to deploy its limited air defense assets to protect its frontline troops or its cities.
At the White House, Sullivan hosts a daily meeting of the National Security Council to coordinate the government-wide effort to support Ukraine and to get the US allies to also provide more air defense capabilities.
“We really went around the world and found for them, not only additional systems that other countries had and persuade them to transfer them, but parts,” the official said, allowing Ukraine to get non-operational S-300 systems back online.
The increased security assistance given to the US by allies was matched or complemented by the decision to provide howitzers in April.
The West is facing a number of challenges in its support ofUkrainians, perhaps the biggest being the fact that the war is in its second year.
The Estonian ministry of defense’s Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm said that Europe’s currentindustrial capacities are limited in terms of how quickly the ammo can be manufactured.
If the west is going to meetUkraine’s needs, NATO and Europe need to be increased in capacity, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The Ukrainian military is planning to use heavy weaponry in a war against the other side, US officials say.
According to US officials, Ukrainians should use a newer style of fighting called maneuver warfare, in which a combination of different arms and movements is used instead of relying on heavy weaponry.
The plan includes calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s state borders with Russia and the withdrawal of Russian troops, a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes, and the release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The allies are starting to realize that the war is going to be longer according to the defense secretary of Estonia. This war is going to be very expensive, and you have to have an end goal in order to manage it.
The senior State Department official is aware of this position. An end goal “has to be something that any democratically elected leader in Ukraine can sell to his or her public,” the official said. He is committed to getting there.
Joe Biden, Ukraine, and the Warsaw Warzone: Where do we stand, where do we go? Where are we going? How do we plan to go?
President Joe Biden barely slept as he rolled in the dark toward Kyiv earlier this week, sitting awake as his curtained-off train car crossed into the warzone that has come to shape so much of his presidency.
Biden will leave Europe three days later having made a loud recommit to his support of Ukraine and blaming the Kremlin for starting the war in Europe.
Biden has told associates and foreign counterparts that his visit this week was key in showing the world the US wouldn’t back down from its support.
As Air Force One returns to Washington, however, it is difficult to ignore the looming questions Biden’s visit did little to answer: How and when the war will end.
There have been persistent concerns at how Ukraine is using those resources among some US and European officials, who have encouraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to focus on planning and executing a spring counteroffensive rather than waging battle on multiple fronts, some with less strategic importance than others.
Sullivan claims that Biden spent most of his time in the warzone scheming out how he would raise the issues with Zelensky when they sat down in the Mariinsky Palace.
Instead, the president focused his remarks in Warsaw – a landmark address he’s been developing for weeks – on heralding the continued resistance of the Ukrainians and accusing Putin of a litany of atrocities.
Both speeches had differences in content and character. Biden was introduced in Warsaw to a pop song by a band while Putin spoke for an hour and a half. On Wednesday, Biden said that it was a mistake for Putin to announce that he would not be participating in the New START treaty.
I think there is a doubt about this argument being made. President Biden has an optimistic view, which is that we can do it, and we should do it, and we are doing it.”
Biden’s aides said his remarks were intended for a multitude of audiences: The besieged Ukrainian people, a Polish population that has borne much of the outside burden, Russians who may be disillusioned by their leaders’ failings.
Many on his team think that most important were the ears in the United States, thousands of miles from the frontlines, and the fact that they have softened their support for US assistance.
The toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio is an example of the American crisis that Biden’s critics said he wasn’t paying attention to.
“Can we first acknowledge the fact that yes, Biden is over in Poland, but shouldn’t he be with those people in Ohio?” asked Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations who is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, during a campaign stop in Iowa. “You always, you have to always during any time of crisis go to your people immediately.”
Biden had spoken to the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania by telephone after his speech in Warsaw, along with the head of the EPA.
“I reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need,” he wrote in a caption accompanying a photo of the call that was posted on Instagram.
The U.S.’s Role in European Security and Security Issues” by Donald Biden and Andrzej Duda
But he also used the opportunity to blast Republicans – including former President Donald Trump, who is set to visit East Palestine on Wednesday – for loosing regulations and making it more difficult to strengthen rail safety.
Biden’s aides ultimately believe Republican members of Congress will continue to provide support for Ukraine, buoyed by the staunch backing of GOP leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy despite the protestations of some of their party’s members.
Perhaps the most impassioned call this week for sustained American involvement in Europe did not come from Biden himself, for whom the concept is innate, but from Polish President Andrzej Duda, once a top ally of Trump who even proposed naming a military base “Fort Trump” in honor of his friend.
The events of this week are related to robust American presence in Europe, according to the man speaking across the table from Biden.
“The United States … has demonstrated on multiple occasions its responsibility for European matters during the First World War, during the Second World War, during the Cold War. Every single time, they restored the democratic rules. He said that the United States brought back freedom.
The town hall where Sullivan and Power took questions from Americans and Ukrainians was held on Thursday and deals with topics ranging from how the US will keep giving weapons to the rebels to an assessment of Russian intentions in the conflict.
“Russia’s aims in this war were to wipe Ukraine off the map, to take the capital and to eliminate Ukraine, to absorb it into Russia,” Sullivan said. They failed at that and we can’t do it as we go forward.
“Sitting here today, we do not see movements in Russia’s nuclear forces that lead us to believe that something fundamentally has changed from how things have been over the course of the past year,” Sullivan said.
The War on the Balge of Russia: How Do We Effort to Make the United States Safe in the Operation? A Reply to Yegor
The $2 billion package includes new funding for contracts in the areas of mine clearance, counter-drone equipment, secure communications equipment, and 155-millimeter cannon fodder.
Sullivan was asked by a Ukrainian soldier named Yegor, currently serving on the front lines, whether the US would be able to increase production of ammunition and other weapons to Ukraine, such as 155-millimeter artillery shells and HIMARS.
Sullivan said that they were working very hard to increase the production of all of these types of weapons. “This is not something we can do with the snap of a finger, but it’s something that we are putting immense effort and resources into.”
He acknowledged that the Ukrainians had sometimes demanded more from the US than they were willing to give, and that the Biden administration had often resisted transfer of weapons.
Sullivan was asked about Beijing’s 12-point plan that called for the end of hostilities in Ukraine as well as Beijing’s offer to act as a buffer between Moscow and Kyiv.
The same week Beijing released its 12-point plan, US officials have warned that China could be preparing to provide lethal military aid to Russia. Sullivan said Thursday night that such a move has not been ruled out yet.
Sullivan said that the idea of the two countries becoming unbreakable allies was not valid because China abstained from voting with Moscow on the UN resolution.
Both Sullivan and Power brushed aside criticism from some of Biden’s Republican critics that the billions of dollars the US is spending in Ukraine would be better spent at home.
Let’s do these at home, I would tell those senators. But are you saying that American is incapable of also helping to serve as a powerful force of good in the world?” Sullivan said something.
Power said that the US support for Ukraine was one of the rare issues where bipartisanship exists in Washington.
Lera asked if she could depend on American to be safe in her country. Power responded that the US was committed to making Ukrainians feel as safe as possible despite the war.
“We have your backs, we stand with you, not just here on the battle front but in trying to help you feel as much safety as you can when one man and his wicked vision has tried to take that away,” Power said.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/24/politics/takeaways-cnn-ukraine-war-town-hall/index.html
The Countdown to Russian War II: America, Russia, and the Future of U.S. Defense and Aid in the Era of Reconstruction
Power acknowledged the long road ahead for the country when the war is over. Some estimates have totaled the damage to date at $130 billion, she noted.
Power said that USAID and international financial institutions have worked to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure and help get private industry to return to peaceful parts of Ukraine.
She added that the Biden administration and allies are focused on making sure the money spent on reconstruction is well spent, because major projects are still ahead.
When there is a negotiated peace, most of those big-ticket items will happen.
“But we have to make sure resources are going to be well spent,” she added. It is when you have huge investments, which go far beyond what is already provided, that you want to make sure that investors and donors know that it is money that is going.
Some GOP lawmakers are already pushing back on claims from fellow Republicans that US funding and weapons aren’t going where they are intended to go – even as Republicans on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday made clear in a letter to Biden administration officials they plan to investigate federal funding to Ukraine to examine potential “waste, fraud, and abuse” in spending.
The meeting set against the anniversary of Russia’s invasion is a stark example of how far apart the Republicans are on how to handle the war moving forward. Since the Republicans took over the House majority in January, the divide has become even more pronounced, even as Speaker Kevin McCarthy tried to remain neutral.
The Republicans are starting to coalesce around a plan in which they will ramp up pressure on Biden to give up his resistence and give up his opposition so that they can take charge of the situation.
McCarthy, meanwhile, hasn’t made a decision on what position he will ultimately take. A person familiar with the discussions told CNN that McCaul was in fact assured by McCarthy that Zelensky would consider sending additional weapons and aid to Ukraine.
McCarthy has also supported House Oversight Chairman James Comer’s probe into the potential misuse of previous US aid, a second person familiar with the talks said. McCarthy approved Comer to send a letter to Austin, and the Secretary of State, seeking documents and information about how the departments are managing oversight of the funds.
F-16s and the U.S. Military-to-Military Dialogue with Ukraine: Cavoli and McCaul Revisited
Last week, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, supreme allied commander for Europe and head of US European command, told 10 GOP lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that F-16s would help Ukraine win. Asked if that was the case, Cavoli said “yes,” the source said, confirming details first reported by Politico.
While Cavoli’s comments go further than what senior US officials have said publicly, they also reflect diverging views within the Pentagon – notably splitting with the more cautious approach of Milley who has long been wary of any move that could provoke Russian escalation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
A McCaul spokesman told CNN that they will hold a hearing this spring on alleged Russian war crimes.
Darrell McCaul was among the GOP congressmen who were part of the delegation.
Two Ukrainian pilots are at a military base in the US having their skills tested to see if they can fly US military aircraft in less time than it would take to get them from idea to reality.
A US military official told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to the Middle East that the Ukrainian pilots were in Tucson, Arizona, for “a familiarization event” that he described as a “routine activity as part of our military-to-military dialogue with Ukraine.”
“The familiarization event is essentially a discussion between the Air Force personnel and an observation of how the US Air Force operates,” the official said.
“This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities. The pilots will not be flying platforms during the event, but will use a simulation during parts of their visit.
In the hearing, it was hard for him to say that the best use of the money is on F-16s.
