The United States is “very committed” to peace and stability in Ukraine. This statement was made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, answering a question during his speech in Germany on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is interesting, however, that when speaking of this activity, he used the definition of “project”.
“We have been working on this project for a long time,” said Pompeo.
The head of the State Department added that several years ago, while still a congressman, he "actively raised the question of providing Ukraine with defensive weapons systems" on the sidelines of one of the Munich security conferences.
However, according to him, this idea did not find support either from the then US President Barack Obama, or from the German leadership. The Secretary of State added that Donald Trump, unlike his predecessor, repeatedly came to the aid of Ukraine.
“At the moment, President Trump has not once, not twice, but three times provided the Ukrainian people with means for self-defense against Russian aggression in the Donbass,” said Pompeo.
The diplomat emphasized that the US authorities are proud of their work in this area, and noted that Washington believes that this activity makes sense for Europe, the whole world and the sovereignty of Ukraine.
“We are very clear about our position on the invasion of Crimea during the previous administration, as well as our plan of action to turn Ukraine into a prosperous, less corrupt country that can move closer to the West,” Pompeo concluded.
Commenting on US support for Ukraine, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies Volodymyr Bruter called this activity “ritual” and “irrelevant to reality.”
“Washington refers to Kiev as a consumable that serves American geopolitical interests. At the same time, Ukraine itself is not at all interested in them. Actually, the economic collapse that accompanies this “project” for all these five years is not accidental, ”the source said.
He added that during this period Ukraine to a certain extent became depopulated and lost its existing industrial potential, without becoming a part of the production chains existing in Eastern Europe. Bruther linked such dynamics with Washington's “curatorship” over Kiev.
“The United States has only one interest in Ukraine: containing Russia, and they will realize this interest to the end. Everything else interests them only insofar as ”, the expert concluded.
“I do not want to send money there”
US-Ukrainian engagement previously turned out to be at the center of a major domestic political scandal in the United States, under which impeachment proceedings are being prepared for President Donald Trump.
In late September, the head of the White House said that the United States intends to delay the allocation of financial assistance to Ukraine until "Europe and other countries begin to make their contribution." Later, Acting Chief of Staff of the White House Mick Mulvaney explained Trump’s position and stated that the president, in particular, was afraid to send funds due to widespread corruption in Ukraine.
“He (Trump. - RT ) is this:“ Listen, this is a corrupt country. I don’t want to send money there to be wasted, spent and pocketed, ”Mulvaini Trump quoted in mid-October.
The words of the head of the White House about the intention to slow down the transfer of aid to Ukraine were voiced against the backdrop of the scandal surrounding the publication of his telephone conversation with Vladimir Zelensky. Earlier, a number of American media reported that Trump ordered the suspension of military assistance to Ukraine shortly before the conversation with Zelensky.
- © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
In addition, based on leaks published in the media, Trump’s opponents claimed that the head of the White House allegedly made it clear to the Ukrainian side that the provision of military assistance would be related to the investigation of the activities in Ukraine of Hunter Biden, the son of former vice president Joseph Biden, a presidential candidate .
However, from the White House transcript of the conversation between Trump and Zelensky, it follows that the leaders did not touch on the topic of military assistance in the dialogue.
In early September, it was reported that the planned amount of assistance to Ukraine through the Pentagon and the State Department is almost $ 400 million.
We add that the United States regularly supplies Ukraine with various military products of its own production. In particular, in the spring of 2019, the AFU received two AN / TPQ-36 class anti-battery radars and more than 30 American HMMWV SUVs from Washington.
The Ukrainian Embassy in the United States claims that by the end of the year Kiev will receive artillery reconnaissance equipment, communications and electronic warfare equipment, night vision devices, medical equipment and "lethal weapons of a defense nature" from Washington.
However, Washington supplies decommissioned equipment to Ukraine. A year ago, plans were announced to send two Island class patrol boats to Kiev, which were released in 1988 and withdrawn from the US Coast Guard in 2017. Both ships arrived at the disposal of Kiev in October 2019.
In a conversation with RT, political analyst Ivan Mezyuho doubted that in this situation we can talk about providing free military assistance to Ukraine, because "Washington never does anything for nothing."
“If we are talking about providing some weapons to the Ukrainian side, then Kiev will pay for it. The United States has been earning all its recent history from military conflicts and does not make rash financial investments regarding the provision of so-called “assistance,” the expert suggested.
He also noted that Washington’s position indicates a lack of interest in ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine, since if the United States were interested in resolving the situation in the Donbass, the Trump administration would take real steps in this direction.
“Ukraine is perceived by the USA as a springboard for confrontation with Russia and in this regard there is no need to be deceived. The current administration perceives the Ukrainian state in the same way as their predecessors, ”the expert concluded.