New US calculation in Ukraine

US officials have revealed that the Joe Biden administration may lift an implicit ban on the deployment of US military contractors to Ukraine, in a major shift in White House policy that observers say would help Ukraine gain an advantage on the battlefield.

Contractor role

If approved, the new policy could take effect this year, allowing the Pentagon to contract with U.S. companies to send personnel to work in Ukraine for the first time since the conflict began in February 2022.

CNN: US to send military contractors to Ukraine

CNN on June 26 quoted a US government official as saying that the White House had not made any decisions and that discussions on the issue were still in their early stages. "President Biden is absolutely certain that he will not send US troops to Ukraine," the anonymous official said.

In the coming time, the US hopes that bringing in military contractors will help speed up the maintenance and repair of US weapons systems used by the Ukrainian military. Bidding companies will have to present plans to minimize risks to employees if they go to work in Ukraine. Currently, US-supplied weapons and military equipment damaged in combat in Ukraine are sent to neighboring countries such as Poland and Romania for repair, which takes a long time.

Ukrainian soldiers repair US-made M113 armored personnel carrier

Russia warns strongly

The move comes as Russia accuses the US of being responsible for a Ukrainian attack in Crimea, when five ATACMS missiles provided by Washington were launched, killing four people and injuring more than 150. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on June 24 that the involvement of the US and Ukraine in the attack was certain, while a US official said "there is nothing to say" when asked about the incident.

Russian Defense Minister Warns US of Escalation Risk in Ukraine

On June 25, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov had the first phone call between the two countries' defense leaders since March 2023. According to Reuters, the two sides discussed many topics, including the Ukraine conflict and the importance of maintaining communication channels. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Minister Belousov warned his counterpart about the dangers of the US continuing to supply weapons to Ukraine. In addition, speaking at the Primakov Discussion Forum in Moscow (Russia) on June 25, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that the risk of direct armed confrontation between nuclear powers is currently high. He called for continued professional discussions to find ways to reduce this risk.

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, Reuters reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky and his generals visited frontline soldiers in the Donetsk region on June 26. Mr. Zelensky is expected to attend the European Union (EU) summit in Belgium on June 27, in the context that Kyiv hopes to gain new security commitments from the EU.

NATO has new leader

Reuters reported on June 26 that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has officially chosen Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (pictured) as the next Secretary General, replacing Mr. Jens Stoltenberg.

Mr Rutte was officially appointed after his only rival, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, withdrew from the race last week. The new NATO secretary general will take office in October, amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and uncertain forecasts about the US attitude towards the transatlantic alliance.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tinh-toan-moi-cua-my-tai-ukraine-1852406262255203.htm