Ukraine should look to US for air defenses, improved air force, says former defense adviser

[Rogue Valley]

Ukraine should look to US for air defenses, improved air force, says former defense adviser

Experts in both Kyiv and Washington are wondering if the Biden administration is willing to share with Ukraine's military.

www.defensenews.com

WASHINGTON — The recent decision by the Biden administration to send $125 million in military aid for Ukraine is a welcome site in Kyiv, but the country needs and deserves much more, according to a former chief adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister. “It is clear that Ukraine is not unique among the list of countries who are supported by the U.S. government,” Oleksandr Danylyuk, now chairman of the Ukrainian Center for Defense Reforms think tank, said in a recent telephone interview from Kyiv. “But it is also clear that Ukraine provides a lot of security for the U.S.” The package, announced March 1, included two Mark VI patrol boats as well as “counter-artillery radars and tactical equipment; continued support for a satellite imagery and analysis capability; and equipment to support military medical treatment and combat evacuation procedures,” per the Pentagon. That marked the first military aid to Ukraine under the Biden administration, and more could be coming; there is another $150 million appropriated by Congress for the fiscal 2021 Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, but that money is gated off until the U.S. Defense and State departments jointly certify there has been “sufficient progress” made by Ukraine on military reform efforts.

Danylyuk, who has advised Ukraine’s government in modernizing its armed forces, particularly its special forces, argued two key points that make Ukraine worthy of increased aid. The first is that country’s 1994 decision to remove from its soil nearly 200 intercontinental ballistic missiles and nearly 2,000 nuclear warheads in exchange for a guarantee of sovereignty from Russia. The second, and far more current, argument he made is that by taking on Russia in the Donbas and elsewhere, Ukraine is expending its own blood and treasure to protect U.S. allies like Poland and the Baltics, and ultimately America itself. “Ukraine deserves much bigger support from a moral point of view and from a very practical point of view,” Danylyuk said. “No disrespect, but Ukraine deserves more than Egypt or Jordan.” Those two countries receive significant military aid from the U.S. In terms of material items, Danylyuk said more air defense and anti-missile systems are needed. He specifically cited the Patriot and Tomahawk missiles as something Ukraine desires. But he noted the level and type of missile defense capabilities the U.S. can and should provide would be in part determined by Ukraine’s capacity to afford and properly use those systems. That same concern would exist for any high-end fighter aircraft — something Danylyuk said is another priority.

Oleksandr Danylyuk is a professional and respected military advisor. He is correct about the Patriots and Tomahawks and US defense funding for Ukraine. In 7 years Ukraine has done far more against a real US adversary - Russia - than Egypt has done since Anwar Sadat. The entire Ukraine military and MIC is being reformed to be wholly compatible with NATO forces. It is already the second largest military in Europe. The modernized Ukrainian T-64BM Bulat and T-84BM Oplot tanks are very good and will sustain for a number of years. Ukraine has just recently developed a sea/land based anti-ship cruise missile named the Neptune with a range of 175 miles. It is deadly. Rather than blue-ocean warships, Ukraine should concentrate on frigate's, corvette's, and coastal patrol craft. The entire Sukhoi and MIG air force should be replaced with more advanced Western fighter aircraft. Ukrainian fighter pilots are pretty good. NATO has a combat training center in Western Ukraine and troops rotate in/out learning tactics from US and Brit units. Canadian forces train the Ukrainian military doctors and medics. What kind of bang does Washington get for its buck? The Pentagon obtains priceless data on Russian military platform (tank/MLRS) performance and critically from Russian electronic warfare systems, all being used in eastern Ukraine. The Russians have far more sophisticated electronic warfare systems and capabilities than previously thought. Ukrainian soldiers can also inform NATO officers how Russian troops perform overall, their tendencies, how they fight in a unified manner, how they will respond in certain situations, and how their equipment performs. Captured equipment is shared with NATO engineers.

Ukraine Is Hardening Its Coastline Against Russian Attack

The Ukrainian navy has just received its first new anti-ship battery. The prototype Neptune missile system, which the Kiev State Design Bureau handed over on Monday, signals a wide-reaching effort to harden the Ukrainian coast against Russian attack.

www.forbes.com

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