Internal conflict in the US over Ukraine?

In the context of the outgoing Washington administration stepping up efforts to strengthen Kyiv’s military capabilities, Mr. Donald Trump expressed his opinion on Ukraine firing US-made long-range missiles into Russian territory.

The US is pouring aid to Ukraine

The latest aid package includes ammunition loaded for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), artillery shells, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), armored vehicles and defense equipment against the threat of air attacks. biochemical, radiological and nuclear weapons.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the above mentioned ammunition and military equipment will be taken directly from US military warehouses. This is the third aid in December for Ukraine, following two previous aid packages of 725 million USD and 988 million USD respectively. The outgoing US administration is looking to boost aid to Ukraine as much as possible in the context that Mr. Trump, after being re-elected as US President, mentioned the possibility of reducing financial support for the Kyiv government.

Also yesterday, Magazine TIME Posted an interview showing that Mr. Trump opposed Ukrainian forces launching US-made long-range missiles into Russian territory. The interview was conducted before Mr. Trump on December 7 met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at an event marking the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

“I strongly disagree with launching missiles with a range of hundreds of kilometers into Russian territory. Why do we do that?”, Mr. Trump expressed his opinion on the occasion of the meeting. TIME elected Person of the Year 2024. The American missile line that Mr. Trump mentioned is ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System). According to publicly available parameters, ATACMS has a maximum firing range of up to 300 km. “That action caused the war to continue to escalate and make the situation worse,” Mr. Trump commented.

However, the elected US President also affirmed that he will continue to support Ukraine and use Washington’s support to end the fighting. “I want to make a deal, and the only way to do that is to not give up,” Mr. Trump said. Regarding the content of Mr. Trump’s interview, White House spokesman John Kirby said he would not comment back and forth on the upcoming US administration’s statements. According to Mr. Kirby, the outgoing administration is looking for ways to put President Zelensky in the best position in case he has to sit at the negotiating table with Russia.

Possibility of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine

During French President Macron’s visit to Warsaw on December 12, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that he had discussed with Mr. Macron the possibility of sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire. However, Mr. Tusk said that Warsaw is not currently planning this action, according to Reuters.

For his part, President Macron said that the solution to the war in Ukraine must be based on the interests of both the Kyiv government and the European Union (EU). The French leader warned that both Ukraine’s sovereignty and EU security were at risk. Mr. Macron’s trip to Poland took place a few days after he arranged a meeting between his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky and Mr. Trump in Paris.

Commenting on the proposal to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, Ms. Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, reminded on December 12: “We need to re-establish peace in Ukraine.” Ukraine before those missions were launched.” According to her, it is impossible to discuss this issue before the ceasefire is applied in Ukraine, and the troop contribution then depends on the decision of each EU member state.