A Debacle Is Looming in Ukraine

287

January 6, 2024

Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 29 December 2023
by Andreas Schwarzkopf (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Peter Carioca. Edited by Laurence Bouvard.

U.S. support is in danger of drying up, threatening more than just Ukraine's war goals.

With the last of U.S. military aid for Ukraine for the time being, a potential debacle for Kyiv and its Western allies is drawing ever closer. If, as expected, Congress continues arguing over support for Ukraine, Washington will soon be unable to send either weapons or money to Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Ukrainian government — which would lead to dramatic consequences.

Germany and the other EU countries could step in to fill some of the aid gaps for Kyiv, but they cannot fill all of them. The Ukrainian army could soon be unable to pay its soldiers and, because of dwindling ammunition supplies, no longer be able to fend off Russian attacks.

All of this not only threatens both Ukraine's war goals and European security, but also would seriously damage the credibility of the American-led West. This would not only please Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin, who has relied on lack of resistance from the West during the Ukrainian invasion. It would also please China and Iran, which are themselves watching to see how and whether the U.S. and its European allies continue to support Ukraine. They will then draw their own policy conclusions from that — i.e. Beijing's policy toward Taiwan and policy on Tehran in the Middle East.

In der Ukraine droht ein Debakel

Die Unterstützung aus den USA droht zu versiegen. Das bedroht nicht nur die ukrainischen Kriegsziele.

Mit der vorerst letzten US-Militärhilfe für die Ukraine rückt ein mögliches Debakel für Kiew und deren westliche Verbündete immer näher. Sollte der US-Kongress sich wie erwartet weiter über die Unterstützung der Ukraine streiten, wird Washington der Regierung von Wolodymyr Selenskyj schon bald weder Waffen noch Geld schicken können - mit dramatischen Folgen

Deutschland und die anderen EU-Staaten könnten die Lücke bei den Hilfen für Kiew ein wenig stopfen, aber nicht vollständig füllen. Die ukrainische Armee könnte ihre Soldatinnen und Soldaten schon bald nicht mehr bezahlen und wegen fehlender Munition die Angriffe der russischen Armee nicht mehr abwehren.

All das bedroht nicht nur die ukrainischen Kriegsziele und die europäische Sicherheit, sondern würde auch die Glaubwürdigkeit des US-geführten Westens schwer beschädigen. Darüber würde sich nicht nur der russische Autokrat Wladimir Putin freuen, der beim Überfall auf die Ukraine auf die mangelnde Widerstandskraft des Westens gesetzt hat.

Auch China und der Iran werden genau hinschauen, wie und ob die USA und ihre europäischen Verbündeten die Ukraine weiter unterstützen und ihre Schlüsse für ihre Politik ziehen - Peking gegenüber Taiwan, Teheran im Nahen Osten.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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