Even she is "afraid"?!

Under the continuous strong attack of Russia, Ukraine is struggling in the Russian Ukrainian battlefield, and has fallen into a serious shortage of troops. The New York Times reported last week that NATO is "getting closer" to sending military trainers to Ukraine, but so far, the United States has refused to send troops to Ukraine and urged NATO not to do so.

On May 19 local time, in an interview with ABC, former US Deputy Secretary of State Newland warned the West not to establish training bases in Uzbekistan, because it would "directly involve" NATO.

In February this year, French President Makron's statement that "NATO troops will not be excluded from entering Ukraine" caused a great uproar. Germany, Poland and even the Secretary General of NATO said that they had no plans to send troops to Ukraine, but some countries, such as Lithuania and Estonia, were ready to move.

When Newland participated in the ABC political talk show This Week on the 19th, he was asked whether the proposal of the United States to refuse NATO to send training personnel to Ukraine was correct. Newland said that the United States has conducted military training for Ukrainians in the territory of NATO countries, such as Poland and Germany, but it is difficult for Ukrainians to escape from the front line of Russia and Ukraine and go to other places for training.

The picture shows former Deputy Secretary of State Newland of the United States, who warned many countries not to establish training bases in Uzbekistan Source: Visual China

"I am worried that NATO training bases in Ukraine will become Putin's targets, which is indeed directly related to NATO operations in the local area." Newland said that this may lead to the escalation of the war in another direction, making Putin think that NATO territory is his "target".

Newland believes that the most reasonable approach is to arrange most of the training outside Ukraine and provide advice within Ukraine, "if Ukraine requests and needs such help".

Newland has served in the US State Department for more than 30 years. He once served as the US ambassador to NATO. He once became the "No. 3 figure" of the US State Department, and was famous for his hawkish views on Russia and Russia's actions in Ukraine. Newland resigned and retired in March this year.

Source | Observer Network

Extended Reading

Zerensky called on allies to "directly participate in the war": the Ukrainian army is under increasing pressure at the front

"Zelensky urges allies to increase aid and participate in the war." Reuters reported on this topic. On the 20th local time, on the fifth anniversary of his presidency of Ukraine, Zelensky, in an exclusive interview with Reuters, appealed to the West to speed up aid and participate more directly in the war, because the Ukrainian army is under increasing pressure on the front line.

The picture shows the information of Zerensky, who recently called on his allies to "directly participate in the war"

It is reported that in recent weeks, the Russian army's fierce attack in northeastern Ukraine further tested the already stretched defense of the Ukrainian army. Zelensky said that the current battlefield situation is "one of the most difficult situations" he has encountered since the outbreak of the Russian Ukrainian conflict. He again called on the United States and other allies to speed up military assistance. Zelensky said: "Every decision we made together with our allies is about a year late. The fact is that we have already taken two steps back before taking a big step. This needs to be changed." Reuters said that the weapons and ammunition in the aid package recently adopted by the United States have now arrived in Ukraine, but it was delayed for several months due to internal political disputes in the United States.

Zelensky said that he hoped that allies would participate in the war more directly, but also understood that they were cautious about confrontation with Russia. "Everyone is afraid of the escalation of the situation, but this is not an escalation for Ukrainians facing death." He proposed that NATO members close to Ukraine intercept the incoming Russian missiles on Ukrainian territory to help Ukraine defend itself. Zerenski said that the Russian army used 300 aircraft on Uzbek territory, and Uzbek needs at least 120-130 aircraft to fight. "Ukraine is waiting for F-16 fighter planes to be delivered for use. If countries cannot provide fighter planes immediately, they can still send planes to take off from NATO countries near Ukraine and shoot down Russian missiles."

Reuters said that the international conference on Ukraine will be held in Switzerland in June. The conference will exclude Russia in order to try to unify and strengthen the pressure of public opinion on Russia. Zelensky said that it is vital to involve as many countries as possible. "At that time, Russia will have to be responsible for most countries in the world, not just Ukraine.". Zerensky also insisted that Uzbekistan "can still win the war" despite setbacks in recent months. "Although people have some doubts about the word 'victory' today, we need to follow this road to the end, preferably a road of victory. I know it is difficult, because it is very long."

In response to Zelensky's call for the West to participate more directly in the conflict, Russian President's press secretary Peskov said on the 21st that various representatives of the Kiev authorities and Zelensky himself had recently made many statements, sometimes even becoming hysterical, because the Ukrainian army was facing an extremely adverse situation on the front line. Even if the United States and other western countries resume the pace of providing military assistance to Ukraine, they will not be able to change the front-line situation of the Ukrainian army, because Kiev has been completely in trouble.

On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the upcoming international conference on Ukraine in Switzerland was just to discuss the Zerensky version of the peace plan. "Zelensky demanded that the Western countries yield to Russia. It is absurd for the West to try to lure countries to attend this meeting and then issue an ultimatum to Russia."

Switzerland plans to hold an international conference on Ukraine in June. The picture shows the information map of President Amherd of the Swiss Confederation

According to the US Foreign Affairs magazine on the 21st, Zagorodnik, the former defense minister of Ukraine, said that the resumption of US military assistance to Ukraine would help to narrow the current war gap between Ukraine and Russia, but could not solve the core problem of "how to win the war". Ukraine needs not only more assistance, but also theories about winning. However, Uzbekistan and its partners still lack a strategy to win, which is a serious problem. Ukraine and Western countries lack coherence and long-term perspective when making important decisions, and the West often only considers the next batch of assistance to Ukraine. Russia is ready for a long-term conflict and has produced a lot of military equipment. Without a long-term strategy, it will be difficult for Ukraine to maintain morale.

On the day of the Reuters interview, the war on the Russian Ukrainian front was still going on fiercely. The Russian Defense Ministry said on the 21st that the Russian army continued to advance in depth towards the defense of the Ukrainian army in the direction of Kharkov. The Russian army has completely controlled the north of the city of Vouchansk, and now controls about 40% of the city. The Russian army is attacking Lipzi, controlling the main highlands and some roads that the Ukrainian army may use.

On the same day, Voroshen, spokesman of the Ukrainian military "Khortica" combat strategy group, said that the Ukrainian military had managed to stabilize the situation in the city of Wolfchansk, Kharkov State, although the combat situation in the state was still difficult and changing dynamically. Over the past day, the Russian army launched more than 80 attacks in the direction of Kharkov, and significantly strengthened its combat tactical cluster near the border.