27 August 2024

U.S. debates support for Ukraine’s surprise offensive into Russia

Karen DeYoung, Alex Horton and Isabelle Khurshudyan

Caught unaware by Ukraine’s surprise military incursion into Russia early this month, the Biden administration is still debating whether to help Kyiv’s forces hold and perhaps even expand the sliver of territory they now occupy in Russia’s Kursk region.

The Pentagon has asked the Ukrainians what they need to make their gambit successful, U.S. officials said, but no decisions have been made to materially support the effort.

Internal administration discussions have focused on whether to adjust the contents of weapons packages that are now being dispatched every two weeks, to include more armored vehicles or to speed up delivery of certain munitions and other equipment that could help the Ukrainians “dig in and defend themselves” in the nearly 500 square miles of Russian territory Kyiv now says it holds, a U.S. official said.

No comments: