In Kyiv, the head of the Pentagon surprised political scientists with a statement about “further Russian aggression”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian leaders, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Today Lloyd Austin will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrey Taran. The ministers will discuss the practical implementation of the agreements reached and the prospects for bilateral cooperation, progress in the implementation of defense reform, as well as security issues in the Black Sea, as reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
In addition, Lloyd Austin will meet with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and discuss with him issues of bilateral cooperation and cooperation in the field of regional security.
Political scientist Vadim Tryukhan believes that during the visit the issue of partnership between Ukraine and the United States outside NATO will be raised.
“This will be a working visit. This means that they will discuss issues that relate to the relationship between Ukraine and the United States, and relate specifically to its competence, that is, security and defense. It seems to me that the discussion will be about how the military assistance that the United States has been providing to Ukraine over the past 7 years is being used. That is, there will be such a “checking of watches.” Further expansion or changes in the emphasis of military cooperation will be discussed.
I think that political things will also be discussed, for example, the issue of the United States’ main partner outside NATO. I think this issue will be raised despite the fact that our government sometimes behaves inconsistently. This issue needs to be discussed, and most likely it will be discussed at the level of defense ministers,” the expert believes.
“Lastly, there is a certain symbolism in this visit. We now see that relations between Russia-Ukraine, Russia-NATO, Russia-West are deteriorating very seriously after the decision was made to cancel a number of positions in the Russia-NATO commission, and after talk began that the mission was being wound down altogether . This is an alarming signal; the next step could be some kind of provocations, actions that will lead to a war of one scale or another.
And the fact that the US Secretary of Defense is now in Ukraine will be a definite signal for the Russians - that Ukraine is not going to be left alone with the wounded beast, Putin’s Russia. This does not mean that they will fight for us, it means political support,” Vadim Tryukhan said on Channel 4.
Political scientist Vladimir Kornilov commented on his Telegram channel on the post that Lloyd Austin made on his Facebook, writing that he came “to express commitment to strengthening Ukraine’s ability to deter further Russian aggression.”
“I came to deter “further Russian aggression.” Finally, at least someone said that in the future “Russian aggression” (albeit restrained) will appear in Ukraine,” Kornilov noted.
Lloyd Austin's visit to Ukraine is of a working nature and is needed, among other things, to demonstrate support for Ukraine from the Biden administration. Vladimir Volya, international affairs expert at the Ukrainian Center for Policy Analysis and Management, stated this in a commentary to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“The US Secretary of Defense has not yet been to Ukraine. So he's coming here. Obviously, he will get acquainted with some aspects related to military cooperation, testify to his support, perhaps hand over some of the American assistance that is expected here, maybe some kind of memorandum will be signed. The visit as a whole is of a working nature. You shouldn't expect any breakthroughs from him.
All major strategic documents were signed during the visit of President Vladimir Zelensky to the United States in September. The current visit is needed, among other things, to demonstrate support for Ukraine from the Biden administration. I do not rule out that this visit is timed to coincide with the provision of the third part of American military assistance, which was announced,” Volya said.
“I am sure that this is a ceremonial visit that should confirm the continued support of the United States of America for Ukraine. Obviously, this visit will be very pretentious, it will be shown and commented on on all TV channels, and so on. All this should add confidence to Zelensky and the government that they are on the right path,” political scientist Alexander Bulavin said in a comment to a PolitNavigator correspondent.