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Among widespread requests to assist Ukraine to protect against Russian invasion, President Joe Biden’s administration is closely reviewing legal questions in regards to the United States offering assistance by providing intelligence and weapons, according to what Congressional officials told NBC News.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress feel the process to build up weapons sent to Ukrainian forces is dragging. They believe the process needs to be immediate, however, the president’s administrative officials believe that lawyering is part of a typical evaluation process.
“There is no legal review or debate that is slowing anything down,” said Emily Horne, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. “We are actively continuing to provide assistance to Ukraine.”
John Kirby, a spokesperson at the Pentagon, stated that they understand the request from Ukraine needing assistance in self-defense and that they will be doing their best to meet their needs during the invasion. He asserts that they will be continuing to offer ways for Ukraine to use self-defense.
“But lawyers at the National Security Council have raised questions about whether providing lethal aid such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and even actionable intelligence that could help Ukraine target Russian forces, would make the United States a party to the conflict under international law, the officials say,” according to Ken Dilanian, Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube and Dan De Luce with NBC News.
President Biden has approved close to $1 billion in assistance from the military for Ukrainian forces in the last year. This includes $200 million in drawdowns from the United States weapons stocks that were authorized in December. It also consists of $350 million in weapons like anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles that were approved last week.
Assistance From Other Countries
The launch last week from Russia consisting of a full-scale invasion with land, sea, and air assaults on Ukrainian cities and installation of military forces, has been faced with a shockingly robust defense as described by United States officials. The officials in Kyiv, claimed they have demolished hundreds of Russian vehicles during the invasion. The vehicles destroyed include a column of T-72 tanks in the northeast town of Glukhov, which is close to the Russian border.
Despite their efforts to avoid overseas military conflict, Germany stated on Saturday that they would be sending 500 Stinger missiles and 1,000 anti-tank weapons over to Ukraine and have dropped export restrictions from other countries on weapons manufactured in Germany. The release of those restrictions allows the Netherlands to provide German-manufactured anti-tank and air defense missiles to offer assistance during the invasion.
Small NATO members, like Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Belgium are sending aid from their military over to Ukraine, as are the United Kingdom and France. Neutral Sweden stated on Sunday that during this invasion, they would be pausing their long-standing belief of not sending weapons to countries dealing with conflict. They will assist by sending defensive items and other supplies to Ukraine. Finland is contemplating the same.
Concerns for Supply Delivery
A senior United States defense official states that the United States and other allies have collided with the reality that sending deliveries to assist Ukraine via their now uncertain airspace is difficult without involvement in the conflict. This official was one of the many that spoke about the condition of anonymity to talk about military preparation.
Late Thursday evening, Lloyd Austin, the United States Defense Secretary told House lawmakers the administration was seeking ways to distribute weapons and is contemplating training Ukrainian forces in a different country, according to Rep. John Garamendi and two other Congressional officials.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov suggests in his video that the U.S. could deliver to Poland, and they would transport everything across the land from there.
In the meantime, as Ukrain citizens prepare to confront tanks in their streets in Kyiv with homemade Molotov cocktails and arms being handed out to everyone able to fight, there has not been a shortage of blaming and revisionist history in Washington.
The president’s administration has worked rapidly since Russian soldiers started huddling at the border in December. The response was slow prior to Russian deployments in March. Republican lawmakers and experts accused President Biden of appeasement in attempts to lock in a diplomatic fix to the situation. They believe Russia would not have invaded if the president had not shown weakness by removing U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Former President Donald Trump called the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin a “genius.” He stated that it would have not happened under his command.
The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has cautioned that World War III could begin. He reported that his soldiers are preparing to assist with the mass-scale Ukraine invasion.
Written by Marrissa Kay
Edited by Jeanette Vietti
Sources:
The Washington Post: The U.S. has been rushing to arm Ukraine, but for years it stalled on providing weapons; by Karen DeYoung
NBC News: Biden admin carefully examining legal issues around providing arms to Ukraine; by Ken Dilanian, Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube and Dan De Luce
Daily Beast: Belarus Issues Dire World War III Warning as It Gets Ready to Send Troops to Ukraine; by Barbie Latza Nadeau Jamie Ross Shannon Vavra
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Mark Steele’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Images Courtesy of Mark Steele’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License