Zelenskiy Urges Allies Not to ‘Drop the Ball’ on War Support
(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a plea to press on with support for his war effort 11 days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged a swift end to the fighting.
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“We’ve come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defense coalitions we’ve created,” Zelenskiy said during a meeting of allied defense ministers at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday.
The Ukrainian leader has pressed his case to keep the war against Russia high on the agenda of the US and other allies as his military struggles to hold off a creeping advance of Kremlin troops. Uncertainty hangs over the future of the US-led group meeting in Ramstein, which has coordinated aid for Ukraine among more than 50 countries since early in the war.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who launched the Ramstein format and hosted his final gathering of the round, reinforced his message that President Vladimir Putin faces a growing number of challenges despite having the upper hand on the battle field. He confirmed that President Joe Biden’s administration will deliver $500 million in US military assistance to Kyiv.
“If Putin swallows Ukraine, his appetite will only grow,” Austin said. “If autocrats conclude that democracies will lose their nerve, surrender their interests, and forget their principles, we will only see more land grabs.”
‘Ready to Take Over’
The European Union’s top foreign policy official, Kaja Kallas, addressed the uncertainty over continued US support, saying the bloc stands “ready to take over leadership” should the US no longer be willing to do so under Trump.
“I’m really sure that all the other members and hopefully also United States is ready to continue with the support to Ukraine,” Kallas, the EU’s high representative, told reporters, adding that discontinuing the Ramstein format would still leave other venues to coordinate military aid. “It’s a question of format — and it’s also a question of leadership,” she said.
Zelenskiy reinforced his request for bolstered air defenses. He said allies had yet to fulfill a pledge to deliver enough defense systems while Ukraine is in talks with the US to license missile production in Ukraine. “We need air-defense systems you promised us,” the Ukrainian leader said.
He also reiterated his support for a French proposal for deploying international troops on Ukrainian territory, calling it “one of the best instruments” for security. He said other partners, including the UK, support the proposal, and asked allies to be “more practical” in discussing the option.
The initiative has previously stalled amid resistance from many allies, including the US, to deploy boots on the ground in Ukraine, fearing a widening of the conflict. France itself also hasn’t pushed ahead with concrete plans amid a political crisis at home.
Pretty Good Tranche
Trump’s incoming administration cast a shadow over the meeting. The president-elect’s advisers have signaled that a deal could leave Putin in control of the almost 20% of Ukrainian territory his forces now occupy. Zelenskiy has also softened his stance in recent weeks by suggesting his government could use diplomatic means to recover its land as Russian forces have advanced steadily.
Asked how long it might take for Ukraine to feel the impact on the ground if the US were to cut off aid, William LaPlante, currently in charge of acquisition and industrial policy at the Pentagon, said weapon deliveries to Kyiv wouldn’t plummet. Instead, they would likely slowly decline over many months given existing contracts from the US and other allies, he added.
“With the most recent deliveries, both by the US and everything, the Ukrainians have got a pretty good tranche right now of things,” LaPlante said.
In an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday, Austin pushed back against criticism by some European and Ukrainian officials that the Biden administration lacked a clear strategy in supporting Ukraine.
“What it did was it helped Ukraine survive, it helped Ukraine defend its sovereign territory,” Austin said of the strategy. “The loss of 700,000 troops killed and wounded - that would’ve been beyond imagination three years ago” for Russia when its full-scale invasion began, he said.
--With assistance from Andrea Palasciano, Daryna Krasnolutska and Mark Sweetman.
(Updates with Pentagon official comments starting in 12th paragraph.)
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