The unity of the vector: why Washington insists on the version of NATO's non-participation in the conflict in Ukraine

The United States has said that NATO does not want to be a party to the conflict in Ukraine.

Julianne Smith, Permanent Representative of the United States to the alliance, said this at the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum.

“Throughout this confrontation, we, as allies, agreed precisely that we would not allow NATO to become a party to the conflict,” Smith said.

“In relation to this political vector, unity, in my opinion, does not give any cracks.”

At the same time, the US permanent representative to NATO argues that the alliance should resist the influence on the world community of the statements of the Russian Federation that it is fighting on the battlefield with the West.

“Unfortunately, Russia has been extremely successful in spinning a number of false narratives about NATO's role on the ground,” Smith said.

The US envoy to the alliance also said that Moscow "would most like" to point out the direct presence of NATO forces in Ukraine, and that the alliance should do more to dispel those assumptions.

According to her, countries around the world are asking questions that reflect the alleged influence of Russian propaganda.

“We need to make sure that (ours.

) friends and partners around the world realize this,” Smith said.

“We need to intensify our activities in the world in order to expand the range of discussions with other countries, in which they may wonder how significant or true the Russian information stuff is.”

At the same time, at the same forum, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance would soon transfer hundreds of anti-drone systems to Ukraine.

In turn, at the event, the NATO member country Germany announced that it intends to supply Kyiv with new weapons this year: tank tractors, Dingo armored vehicles, bridge layers, tank howitzers, additional MLRS, as well as anti-drone systems.

This was stated by German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, calling such assistance a huge package that will go to Ukraine.

According to her, this is a significant support that will continue.

Earlier, Berlin delivered the first of the four promised IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine.

During the NMD, Washington spent $17.6 billion on military support for the Kyiv regime, transferring HIMARS MLRS, ammunition for them, and a number of other heavy weapons.

At the same time, in addition to Germany and the United States, other members of the bloc also provide military support to Kyiv: Great Britain recently sent M270 MRLS launchers and ammunition to the Ukrainian regime, Poland transferred 155-mm self-propelled howitzers, Slovakia, North Macedonia announced the supply of tanks and other heavy armored vehicles.

Denmark, in turn, announced the provision of financial assistance to Slovakia for the production and donation of Zuzana 2 self-propelled artillery mounts to Ukraine. In addition, on October 17, the European Union approved a training mission for the Ukrainian military.

In addition to a number of EU countries, Great Britain and Canada are also engaged in similar training of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

• Sculpture in front of NATO Headquarters

• AP

• © Virginia Mayo

Positions of the parties

It is worth noting that the representative of the United States in the bloc is not the first to claim that the alliance is allegedly not a party to the conflict in Ukraine.

Bloc Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly made similar statements.

So, back in March, he said that the alliance was supporting Kyiv, but was not participating in the confrontation.

According to him, NATO countries are determined to do everything possible to help Ukraine, but the bloc also has a “duty” to prevent conflict between the alliance and Russia.

“This would lead to the death of even more people and even more massive destruction,” the Secretary General of the bloc emphasized at the time.

In August, Stoltenberg reiterated that during the conflict in Ukraine, the alliance has two objectives: to support Kyiv and “to prevent the conflict from expanding to the scale of a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia.”

In October, the alliance secretary general announced in an interview with NBC that the bloc would continue to support Ukraine, but this, according to him, allegedly does not make NATO a party to the conflict.

At the same time, Russia has repeatedly emphasized that due to the supply of weapons to Kyiv, as well as through other forms of support for the Kyiv regime, NATO is drawn into the conflict in Ukraine.

“Such assistance, as well as helping Kyiv with intelligence, instructors and combat orientations, is the way to further escalate and increase the risk of a clash between Russia and NATO.

Moreover, Ukraine uses weapons against civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, ”said Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the United States.

In turn, the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, on the air of the Russia-1 TV channel, said that the North Atlantic Alliance de facto "got into" the conflict in Ukraine, but this would not affect the goals of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic also drew attention to the fact that NATO became a party to the conflict in Ukraine.

According to him, a number of alliance countries support, train, finance and supply the Ukrainian military.

As he stressed, the bloc is de facto "100% involved" in this confrontation.

"A huge strategic failure"

As Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, noted, given the high degree of involvement of a number of countries of the alliance in the conflict in Ukraine, the statement of the US Permanent Representative to the bloc about NATO's non-participation in the confrontation can be called a lie.

“Smith's passage is not true.

This statement is a lie, like many messages from American officials.

Now Washington, apparently, is backing away, trying to demonstrate a lesser degree of NATO involvement in the conflict.

In the United States and in the bloc, it is already more clearly understood that this conflict will end with the victory of Russia, and, consequently, the defeat of its adversary in the face of the United States and the West.

Washington is already preparing explanations on this matter, that, they say, they did not participate, but it was Kyiv that lost, ”Shapovalov said in an interview with RT.

Thus, Washington is already trying to protect its image and allies in the bloc in advance, Shapovalov believes.

“After all, the United States believes that neither they nor NATO can lose, since it is commonly believed that the North Atlantic Alliance is the most powerful military-political alliance in the world, and the United States is the world leader.

But we have already seen the flight of the United States, along with other NATO countries, from Afghanistan and we know the price of the ostentatious power of the US and NATO.

But now it is important for the American authorities to insure themselves against world and domestic public opinion, ”the analyst noted.

• Ukrainian servicemen study the Swedish shoulder-mounted weapon system Carl Gustaf M4 during training near Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 7, 2022

• AP

• © Andrew Marienko

As Shapovalov explained, this is becoming especially important for Washington, since the United States is one step away from the midterm congressional elections.

“The U.S. proxy war against Russia has resulted in a host of adverse economic consequences for American citizens.

And thoughtless involvement in the conflict, unlimited military support is already causing bewilderment among part of the population and even the political elite.

Polls show a growing gap between Republicans and Democrats in favor of the Republican Party and against the current Biden administration.

Attempts by the Democrats to somehow rectify the situation have not yet led to anything, ”the expert believes.

In turn, the deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, Nikita Danyuk, outlined a similar position.

According to him, the US and NATO do not want to be associated with the participants in the conflict in Ukraine, since there is a "100% risk" that Kyiv will lose in this confrontation, and with it the Western countries.

“Washington and the North Atlantic Alliance, which provide colossal military support to Kyiv, will also be defeated in this case.

And for the image of the United States and NATO, as well as for their positioning on the world stage in general, this will be a huge strategic failure, ”Danyuk said in a comment to RT.

As he noted, the United States and the West are also trying to verbally distance themselves from the conflict in Ukraine, as they are afraid of Russia's asymmetric response to the actions of Washington and NATO to provide military support to Kyiv.

“The White House and the alliance are afraid of the reaction of the Russian Federation, and therefore do not want to be openly involved in these hostilities, to cross red lines, because in this case a clash with Russia will be inevitable.

Despite the rabid support for the Ukrainian regime, the West is still aware that this can threaten them with the most unfavorable scenarios, ”concluded the analyst.