Daily Times

Both sides of the Ukraine war have lost billions of assets and human lives, and keep on losing resources, strategic assets and their economy. The inciters, US-NATO nations, are selling their arms and ammunition that have mounted a huge bulge of loans on Ukraine, a prosperous country before the US interference in its internal affairs. The US military assistance to Ukraine has reached about 450 billion since February 2022, in addition to $13 billion from the EU-NATO nations despite historic inflation, and the ever-increasing food and energy crisis.

Israel, the US dearest baby, has turned down a request by the Biden administration to supply its outdated Hawk batteries and surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine. The sources told the US media outlet Axios website last week of January 2023 that “one American and three Israeli officials said Washington had contacted Israel on the issue two weeks before [early January 2023].”

The news report quoting a senior official in the Israeli Defense Ministry wrote “Israel has informed the US that their policy of not providing arms to Ukraine remained unchanged and that the Hawk systems were “obsolete.” However, Israeli officials suggested to Axios that while the launchers were not functional, the interceptor missiles could have still been refurbished and put to use.

A US official told Axios that “similar requests were made to several other nations that possess Hawk systems, as Ukraine has been struggling to cope with massive Russian missile barrages targeting the country’s military facilities and energy infrastructure in recent months.”

The Kyiv regime risks repeating the same fate where the Pentagon had fled Afghanistan in a haste.

Seems, no more countries are interested in indulging themselves in the Ukraine war after having witnessed the impact on EU-NATO states. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin could not convince any countries so far to extend military support. Even, his speech to the pro-Israel AIPAC lobby group earlier this month has failed to find any support. Israel has provided Ukraine with substantial humanitarian aid but has remained reluctant to supply any weapons, despite pressure from Washington and Kyiv.

Israel is unlikely to go against Russia which has supported Israel to operate freely against Iranian activity in Russian-influenced Syrian territories. So, Israel is also likely to turn down Ukraine’s recently laid out direct requests for a $500 million loan and military aid. However, a planned visit of the Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to Kyiv remains intact despite controversies on its strategic outcome but merely a $50 million non-military loan.

Ukraine has introduced emergency energy shutdowns in Odesa after a “technological accident” at a high-voltage electricity substation, one of the several, that was previously damaged by an alleged Russian attack. Half a million people are without power and officials have warned repairs could take weeks. Turkey is likely to help Ukraine with high-power generators.

More than 18.1 million border crossings have taken place out of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, according to data from the United Nations. A total of 116 Ukrainian troops have come home after being captured, with 63 being sent back to Russia.

A World Health Organization report on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has said that 17.7 million people have been left in need of assistance and 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees have been displaced across Europe. It has triggered a dispute between the US and Russia, with the Kremlin saying it is politically motivated and Washington saying it needs to be updated.

Portugal has become the latest country to say it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, prime minister António Costa said last Saturday. Meanwhile, the US media has reported that the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, has authorised the country to begin using seized Russian money to aid Ukraine.

Keeping in view the current situation, the questions are swirling around: Will the US-NATO be able to consistently support Ukraine to fight the Russian troops whereas the Ukrainian army is even unable to operate the British and European tanks? What about the burden of huge military borrowings on Ukraine and its nose-dived economy, reconstruction of a war-raged country, and rehabilitation of refugees?

Many have feared that the US and the EU will leave Ukraine in the lurch as they had left Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. It will be an even worse betrayal, sooner or later. Conversely, the Kyiv regime remains afloat solely thanks to “unlimited assistance from the United States and its allies”, according to French experts from a virtual publication ‘Reseau International’. However, the analysts believe that once the balance of power changes in the confrontation with the Republicans, Joe Biden’s administration of Democrats will consistently reduce its support for Kyiv. Cynical disregard of treaty obligations to the allies has become a trademark of the American establishment, which does not hesitate to betray its partners in case of a sudden change in the internal political balance of power.

The apparent future of the borrowing-burdened Ukraine as many experts foresee will not be less than the war-trodden Afghanistan. The Kyiv regime risks repeating the same fate and story of miseries where the Pentagon had failed to fulfil its long-term promises of comprehensive support and fled Afghanistan in a haste. Georgia is a similar example. The United States and the European Union are used to disregarding the interests of their partners and adjusting to the changed domestic and foreign policy environment. International experts predict an unenviable fate for Ukraine – to be added to the list of abandoned allies.

The writer is a freelance journalist and broadcaster, and Director Devcom-Pakistan. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com and tweets @EmmayeSyed