FROM THE CORRESPONDENT FROM WASHINGTON. Arms the Ukrainians, sanctions to weaken the Russian economy, the ousting of Moscow from international fora, strengthening of the eastern flank of NATO and an eye to the Pacific quadrant where Chinese moves are closely observed: these are the guidelines along which the ‘Biden administration in comparison with Russia. The word negotiations in Washington have gone out of fashion. The images coming from Bucha and the fear – almost certainty – that new testimonies of violence will emerge from other Ukrainian locations, are pushing the White House on a line of absolute intransigence. Which causes Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to say that “America will continue to give Ukrainians everything they need to be successful.” To his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, the defense secretary has secured a new package of Javelins and anti-tank devices.
The front is in the Donbass: this is where the military means and weapons that the allies make available to Kiev will arrive along a proven logistic chain. Yesterday the British raised the level of armaments again and Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that London will send sophisticated anti-missile and anti-tank defense systems, stressing that the United Kingdom “is ready to give every possible defensive armament”. The White House is also moving along this line: on the one hand it sends its armaments to Kiev, on the other hand it facilitates the transfer of arms of the allies. Austin’s recent trip to Bratislava made it possible to sign an agreement finalized yesterday: Slovakia will send the S-300 system to Ukraine and Washington will “fill” the defensive hole by deploying Patriot batteries in NATO territory.
Biden’s military strategy accelerated dramatically after Zelensky’s speech to the US Congress and pressure from Nancy Pelosi and Senator Charles Schumer. The war will be long, the Pentagon believe, and the results still have to be deciphered. For this Biden has given instructions to all agencies not to spare efforts and resources and will use the Lend-Lease Program to accelerate the delivery of military equipment, bypassing all bureaucratic and regulatory obstacles. A fast track adopted in the past in 1944 to arm Europe against Hitler.
The US administration has allocated 1.7 billion dollars since February 24, 2022, and has given the green light to the sharing of intelligence elements on the Donbass with the Ukrainians in order to facilitate field operations. It is a signal that – combined with the delivery of other “Swithblade” kamikaze drones capable of piercing armored vehicles – marks an acceleration in the conflict. Some Ukrainian soldiers are in the United States to receive training, but Kiev soldiers are already in the field capable of handling these drones effectively. Biden remains adamant on two elements: the no-fly zones and the direct involvement of US soldiers on the ground. But the gap on what Washington thought it should and could do two months ago and what it does today has narrowed significantly.
The US administration reiterates on every occasion that the goal is to reduce Russia to a pariah state, both economically, financially and politically, as evidenced by the suspension of Russia from the Human Rights Council until 2023. Un. The sanctions that have hit it – five rounds – will lead, according to American estimates, Moscow to see its GDP contracted by 15% and exit from the top 20 of the most prosperous economies on the planet and to reduce any ambition for power.
Sanctions are also a signal sent to Beijing. The war in Ukraine did not divert American antennas from the Pacific. Indeed, the messages that the US are delivering are clear: first of all, the fact that four countries in the area (Australia, South Korea, New Zealand and Japan) participated in this week’s NATO summit is a warning to China: democracies – is the message brought by Blinken – are determined to defend the liberal order. Secondly, Biden used precisely in the interview with Xi Jinping last month the “compactness” of the West on the sanctions in Moscow, to reiterate that this treatment could also be reserved for China in case it were to support Putin with arms or economically. Or perhaps in the unfortunate eventuality of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.