The Ukrainian President and his Major Visit to the USA

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s surprising visit to the USA comes after more than 300 days of war, at a critical moment in the Russian invasion that started on the 24^th February 2022.

By the end of Wednesday, 21^st December 2022, during his visit to the USA, the Ukrainian President, V. Zelenskyy enthusiastically asked Washington and the US Congress – to keep on supporting Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion. V. Zelenskyy thanked the US Congress and the US people for their major support and emphasized that the engagements they made were crucial for Ukraine over the following period.

In the speech he delivered in the Congress, V. Zelenskyy said that “US support is essential, not only when it comes to taking part in such a fight but also when it comes to winning on the battlefield”. Moreover, the Ukrainian President insisted on the fact that “US funds are not charity but an investment in global security and democracy, that are managed most responsibly”. He compared the Ukrainian troops in Donbas to the US troops that fought in the Battle of the Bulge[1], during World War 2, saying that the war in Ukraine was a battle that “cannot be frozen or postponed”. Zelenskyy stated that Russia “found an ally” in Iran. In this context, he highlighted that “the UAVs Iran sent to Russia became a threat to Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and that is how a terrorist met another”. Moreover, during his speech, the Ukrainian official drew attention on the fact that it was only a matter of time before the other allies would be hit, unless they were stopped.

Before his speech in the Congress, during his time with Joe Biden in the White House, the Ukrainian president manifested a special attitude towards US officials. He wanted to know if Kyiv could ever achieve a “just peace” with Moscow and lobbied for extra weapons to be sent to Ukraine, weapons that could support his country’s war effort all through this winter. The attitude and the interest surfaced after Joe Biden and US officials publicly stated that the Ukrainian leader wanted just that. According to Ukrainian officials, Western weapons are vital to Ukraine’s defence capabilities. Kyiv seeks to own the “Patriot” defence system. Analysts say that it would represent a boost for Ukraine’s air defence capabilities, however, it would not provide immediate success, because massive Russian drones and rocket attacks destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

“There cannot be a just peace in a war that was imposed on us” added V. Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian official said that Ukraine would not agree with anything except with recovering its full territorial integrity and a “full reimbursement of the damages caused by the Russian aggression”.

A Significant Increase in US Military Support for Ukraine

According to the US State Department, the high-precision weapons that will be delivered to the Ukrainians will be part of the “first transport of the ammunition that will provide the Ukrainian Air Forces with the necessary capabilities to carry out high precision strikes against the Russian invading forces”.

This latest package that amounts to 1.85 billion USD provides US weapons, military and security support. Ever since the start of the war, the US support amounted to 21.3 billion USD.

The support the USA planned to provide Ukraine is a significant step in the Ukrainian air defence enhancement plan, and comes following Kyiv’s long-time request.

According to the US State Department the latest military support package for Ukraine includes:

• One Patriot air defence battery and munitions;
• High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition;
• 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
• 10 120mm mortar systems and 10,000 120mm mortar rounds;
• 10 82mm mortar systems;
• 10 60mm mortar systems;
• 37 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs);
• 120 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
• Six armoured utility trucks;
• High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
• Precision aerial munitions;
• Over 2.700 grenade launchers and small arms;
• Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
• Demolition munitions, and demolition equipment;
• Night vision devices, optics, and laser rangefinders;
• Tactical secure communications systems;
• Bulletproof vests and fighting gear;
• 45,000 152mm artillery rounds;
• 20,000 122mm artillery rounds;
• 50,000 122mm GRAD rockets;
• 100,000 rounds of 125mm tank ammunition;
• SATCOM terminals and services;
• Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment.

According to the Pentagon, the USA will train the Ukrainian forces so they can use the “Patriot” defence system. In Washington the US Army announced that it would extend the military training of Ukrainians that took place in Germany. Starting with January 2023, they will train 500 militaries a month, so that in April the USA and their allies will have trained around 15,000 Ukrainians. Besides the USA and EU leaders have also agreed to provide an 18 billion Euros support, to finance Ukraine in 2023 and decided to adopt a new package of sanctions against Moscow – the ninth.

Russia Is Preparing a Large Military Operation

If we are to analyse the actions taken by the Russian leaders, it is worth mentioning that the same day that V. Zelenskyy visited the USA, the Russian Minister for Defence, Sergey Shoigu stated that his country needed 1.5 million troops to “fully ensure Russia’s security”, however he did not mention when the Russian Armed Forces would reach that number. At present, the Russian Armed Forces encompass approximately one million troops, smaller than the Chinese, with two million and the USA, with almost 1.4 million troops (India also has 1.4 million troops).

In the same context as the events took place in Russia, and on the same day V. Zelenskyy visited the USA, we see fit to highlight Russia’s viewpoints and the decisions it adopted, most likely as a response to the evolutions in Ukraine. As such, V. Putin and the Russian Minister for Defence, Sergey Shoigu made a series of very interesting statements, while they were leading the meeting in the Russian Ministry of Defence. Why do we say this? Because the position adopted by the Russian president according to which he was willing to give the Russian military everything they need. Other indicators show that he has already decided recreate the “substantial conventional Russian military threat to Europe”.

Therefore, during the event that V. Putin organised, he also promised that he would give the Russian military “everything they needed”. In the meantime, he insisted on letting them know that there never were financial limitations for the resources the Russian military received thus far. In this context, it is interesting to see the assessment of the US think-tank The Institute for the Study of War, according to which the evolutions and “Russia’s military defeats in Ukraine can convince V. Putin to ajust the resources allocated for the Russian Armed Forces”.

Another assessment was that this course of action could mean allocating more financial, material and time resources, which some see as achievable, even if there are reservations in this respect. The Russian Minister for Defence, Sergey Shoigu, highlighted his plans to establish new military units and armed groups in West Russia, including an army corps that would be deployed in North-Western Karelia[2], close to Finland. The plans show a return to the military structure from the Soviet era that Russia abandoned during the military reforms it underwent, which led to the establishment of smaller and more mobile military units.

Sergey Shoigu stated that the infantry, airborne and navy brigades would be turned into divisions, larger units that Russia had in the past. He also announced that new divisions would be established. As part of a planned reform some air force units will serve under certain ground forces, in an attempt to increase the level of coordination between them. Many observers said that this endeavour was scarce during the military actions taken in Ukraine.

The Russian President also promised he would insist on modernising his country’s nuclear forces, which he described as the “main guarantee of the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, strategic parity, and global balance of power”. He said that the latest intercontinental ballistic missile, “Sarmat” would soon become part of the Russian military arsenal. This type of missile is meant to replace the outdated ballistic missiles, built by the Soviets, and become the basis of the Russian nuclear forces. Putin welcomed its performances. The president also said that Russia would deploy more hypersonic weapons, indicating that the first warship equipped with latest generation “Zircon” hypersonic missiles would be ordered by the Russian Navy sometime next month.

As a Conclusion

Ukraine and Russia rule out a truce, talks and negotiations that would eventually lead to the end of the conflict. With western help, Ukraine significantly improved its air defence against Russia’s ballistic missiles. However, it requires more advanced weapons, especially during this time when Western allies increased their financial support and training.

It became very clear that Russia is trying to find new solutions to start a different, larger military operation, which could ensure its victory. However, Ukraine wishes to counter decisive strikes by asking the USA and other allies for more financial support and more advanced weapons systems.

[1] “The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in Europe. It was launched through the Ardennes region, situated between Belgium and Luxembourg.”

[2] “Karelia – the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia, Finland, and Sweden. It is currently divided between north-western Russia and Finland.”