Members of Ukraine’s ninety fifth Air Assault Brigade defend an area near the front line of fighting on Jan. 12, 2023, outside Kremina, Ukraine.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – The director of America’s top spy agency described Russia’s war in Ukraine as a “grinding conflict” that can require the West to proceed to supply security assistance packages to ensure that Kyiv to prevail.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria during a panel discussion on the World Economic Forum that each Ukrainian and Russian militaries are facing significant challenges however the war had not reached a stalemate.
“It isn’t a stalemate but really, a grinding conflict where quite literally, we’re talking about a whole bunch of meters being fought over within the context of the frontlines,” Haines said in Davos, Switzerland.
“It is going to be extremely vital for Ukraine to receive essential military assistance and economic assistance moving forward to ensure that them to have the option to proceed to administer what they’ve been heroically doing,” she added.
The U.S. has contributed the lion’s share of security assistance to the fight. Last week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced certainly one of the biggest weapons packages since Russia’s full-scale invasion began nearly a yr ago.
Austin said the newest package of U.S. military equipment certain for Ukraine is valued at $2.5 billion and can help “meet Ukraine’s most urgent battlefield needs.”
The upcoming military assistance, the thirtieth such tranche, brings U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s fight to greater than $26 billion because the starting of the Biden administration.
Ukrainian serviceman holds a Next Generation Light Anti-armour Weapon (NLAW) on the position not removed from the front line within the south of Kharkiv region, on July 11, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Anatolii Stepanov | Afp | Getty Images
“Weapons are the option to peace,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said alongside Haines. “Which will sound like a paradox however the only option to have a negotiated agreement is to persuade President [Vladimir] Putin that they may not win on the battlefield and he has to take a seat down and negotiate.”
Stoltenberg added that Ukraine’s battle has the total force of the 30-member NATO alliance since it is a “fight for democracy.” He said that “it is incredibly vital that President Putin doesn’t win this war, it is going to be a tragedy for Ukrainians, but additionally very dangerous for all of us.”
Polish President Andrzej Duda said that the West must do more to support Ukraine, adding that assistance from allies “continues to be not enough.”
“Ukraine needs more of our effort, needs more of our aid and we should always mobilize ourselves to assist them because their situation is basically difficult,” he said, adding that the war is approaching an important moment.
