While Volodymyr Zelensky continues to denounce the delays in Western military aid, Jake Sullivan assured that this problem was due to difficult logistics and not to a lack of political will to support kyiv.
US President Joe Biden is “determined” to use the remainder of his term to strengthen Ukraine and will meet with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during the U.N. General Assembly in New York in late September, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Saturday.
Joe Biden “is determined” to use the remaining months of his term to strengthen Ukraine against Russia, he said while participating via videoconference in a forum in kyiv. The November presidential election in the United States could be a game changer for kyiv if Republican Donald Trump wins.
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Donald Trump’s aides have already hinted that if he wins, they will use American aid as leverage to force kyiv to make territorial concessions to Russia in order to end the war. “President Zelensky said that ultimately this war will have to end through negotiations, and we need them to be strong in those negotiations.”said Jake Sullivan during the annual Yalta European Strategy conference organized by the foundation of Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk.
Difficulties on the front
The Ukrainian army has been struggling for months on the eastern front, where Russian forces are gaining ground, despite a surprise incursion by Ukrainian troops into Russia’s Kursk region in August. In eastern Ukraine, “The area around Pokrovsk is of particular concern”Jake Sullivan stressed, referring to a key city that has been the target of intense attacks by Russian troops for weeks, who are already less than 10 kilometers from this strategic rail and road hub.
According to Sullivan, President Biden will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart in late September in New York. “At that point, President Biden will have four months left in office. And he is determined to use those four months to put Ukraine in the best possible position to prevail.”highlighted by M. Sullivan.
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While Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian leaders continue to denounce the delays in Western military aid, particularly from the United States, Jake Sullivan assured that this problem was due to difficult logistics and not to a lack of political will to support kyiv. “It’s not a question of political will. It’s a question of difficult and complicated logistics (…) to deliver this material to the front”he said.
“Do better”
“But as President Zelensky said… given what Ukraine is facing, we need to do more, and we need to do better. And I agree with that.”. Faced with the new wave of attacks against Ukrainian energy sites, the United States fears Russian strikes on Ukrainian nuclear power plants, which play a vital role in the country’s electricity production, Jake Sullivan further stressed.
“The Russians have been very brutal in their attacks on civilian energy infrastructure. They have already fired on Ukrainian nuclear power plants and I think it could happen again.”he said. “We must help Ukraine defend these nuclear power plants, which is particularly important and a priority for us.”the American official stressed.
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