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Ukraine Wants Old US Gear
WASHINGTON — Ukraine wants the US to provide it with military body armor, vehicles and reconnaissance equipment left over from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to help it deter Russian forces in the eastern region of the country, according to a former Kiev official.
Without this equipment, Ukrainian forces will likely die in high numbers should Moscow send its military forces west, said Leonid Polyakov, who served as Ukraine’s deputy defense minister from 2005 to 2008 and for two months this year after President Viktor Yanukovych and his government were overthrown.
He returned to Defense Ministry two days after Russia’s March invasion of Crimea and served until this month. A graduate of the US Army War College and fellow at Harvard University, Polyakov implemented a holding strategy in Crimea while Ukrainian forces mobilized on the mainland in March.
“In terms [of] provided military support, a lot of people on both sides are disappointed because it has direct cost for Ukrainian soldiers,” he said in a May 13 interview.
Polyakov was in Washington last week for meetings with government officials, think tanks and academics.
Soldiers and law enforcement are inheriting military equipment “oriented toward supporting a regime, rather than fighting an insurgency,” he said. Ukrainian troops have mobilized and deployed without access to good reconnaissance, drones, night-vision, space intelligence, body armor, secure communications and electronic warfare equipment.
“Certain countries, including the US, could have easily provided what we needed in addition to what we can buy ourselves,” Polyakov said. The only way to get equipment quickly is through countries such as the US, since ordering items in large quantities takes time, he said.
The US has pledged to send nonlethal supplies to Ukraine, including medical supplies, helmets, sleeping mats, water-purification units, small power generators and hand fuel pumps. US officials have consistently said they are reviewing additional requests.
But Ukraine wants items that could help its military defend itself.
“[The US] has withdrawn from Iraq, [and] Afghanistan ... somehow there is no decision to offer this something to us,” Polyakov said, noting Ukraine has contributed soldiers to the American-led International Security and Assistance Force coalition in Afghanistan.
State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on May 6 that President Barack Obama’s goal is to “de-escalate, not escalate, the situation on the ground.”
Early on after the Russian invasion into Crimea, Polyakov said Ukrainian and US military officials discussed joint courses of action, but nothing has been born of those talks.
“We think there are different ways to support Ukraine to reduce this delay by providing necessary intelligence, providing certain training ... providing certain equipment, navigation and other things,” he said.
WASHINGTON — Ukraine wants the US to provide it with military body armor, vehicles and reconnaissance equipment left over from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to help it deter Russian forces in the eastern region of the country, according to a former Kiev official.
Without this equipment, Ukrainian forces will likely die in high numbers should Moscow send its military forces west, said Leonid Polyakov, who served as Ukraine’s deputy defense minister from 2005 to 2008 and for two months this year after President Viktor Yanukovych and his government were overthrown.
He returned to Defense Ministry two days after Russia’s March invasion of Crimea and served until this month. A graduate of the US Army War College and fellow at Harvard University, Polyakov implemented a holding strategy in Crimea while Ukrainian forces mobilized on the mainland in March.
“In terms [of] provided military support, a lot of people on both sides are disappointed because it has direct cost for Ukrainian soldiers,” he said in a May 13 interview.
Polyakov was in Washington last week for meetings with government officials, think tanks and academics.
Soldiers and law enforcement are inheriting military equipment “oriented toward supporting a regime, rather than fighting an insurgency,” he said. Ukrainian troops have mobilized and deployed without access to good reconnaissance, drones, night-vision, space intelligence, body armor, secure communications and electronic warfare equipment.
“Certain countries, including the US, could have easily provided what we needed in addition to what we can buy ourselves,” Polyakov said. The only way to get equipment quickly is through countries such as the US, since ordering items in large quantities takes time, he said.
The US has pledged to send nonlethal supplies to Ukraine, including medical supplies, helmets, sleeping mats, water-purification units, small power generators and hand fuel pumps. US officials have consistently said they are reviewing additional requests.
But Ukraine wants items that could help its military defend itself.
“[The US] has withdrawn from Iraq, [and] Afghanistan ... somehow there is no decision to offer this something to us,” Polyakov said, noting Ukraine has contributed soldiers to the American-led International Security and Assistance Force coalition in Afghanistan.
State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on May 6 that President Barack Obama’s goal is to “de-escalate, not escalate, the situation on the ground.”
Early on after the Russian invasion into Crimea, Polyakov said Ukrainian and US military officials discussed joint courses of action, but nothing has been born of those talks.
“We think there are different ways to support Ukraine to reduce this delay by providing necessary intelligence, providing certain training ... providing certain equipment, navigation and other things,” he said.
