The United States and its allies must stop playing “patriot games” with Ukraine

After questioning Israel’s endgame in Gaza in my previous column, a reader asked: “Do you know what President Joe Biden’s endgame is in Ukraine?”

It’s a crucial question as Russia launches a new offensive, mercilessly bombing civilian targets in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. Meanwhile, Washington still refuses the Patriot air defense systems that the Ukrainians have urgently requested for more than two years.

We know the endgame of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who essentially declared that he would cut aid to kyiv if it did not capitulate to Vladimir Putin. He encouraged his MAGA supporters in Congress to withhold U.S. military aid for six months, leaving Ukrainian fighters without shells to fight back against the Russians.

But what about the White House’s plans to end the war in Ukraine?

Congress’ six-month delay in aid seriously harmed Ukraine and gave the Russians an opportunity to prepare for this offensive. Yet even as U.S. aid finally begins to flow, the administration appears unwilling to commit to Ukraine’s victory.

And yes, given Ukraine’s technological ingenuity and its conviction to fight an existential battle for its survival, I believe a victory is still possible, if the West has the will and strategic intelligence to help kyiv achieve this goal.

Yet the White House seems only intended to prevent a collapse of Ukraine, not to sideline Putin. Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, suggested that Ukraine could “hold the course” in 2024 and begin regaining territory by 2025. Yet this scenario depends on continued aid American military, which in turn requires a Biden victory in November. Neither is guaranteed.

Keep in mind that negotiations with Moscow are not an option in the near future. Emboldened by his alliance with Beijing and the arms of Iran and North Korea, Putin has made clear that his goal is to eliminate the independent state of Ukraine, which he considers illegitimate.

What’s missing in the U.S. approach to kyiv is the sense of urgency the White House has demonstrated over Gaza, sending senior officials to Jerusalem and Saudi Arabia repeatedly, even if the outcome risks being dismal. That same sense of urgency could still make a crucial difference in Ukraine.

Nowhere is this truth more evident than with what I call “Patriot games.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begged the West to help “shut down the skies” over Ukraine by sending American-made Patriot systems. The country’s aging Soviet air defense systems are no match for the Kremlin’s arsenal of cruise and even ballistic missiles, which deliberately destroy city centers and energy systems. That and the United States’ long-standing reluctance to send American-made F-16 fighter jets, or let its European allies deliver them, have left Ukraine unable to control its skies.

With its army of technicians, a limited number of aging Russian aircraft, and limited European air defense systems, Ukraine did its best. But it was not until Kyiv finally received three Patriot systems in the spring of 2023 – one from the Pentagon and two from Germany – that the capital, Kyiv, finally became safe. However, the beautiful, historic city of Kharkiv, the vital port city of Odessa, and other critical cities remain open to Russian air attack.

In recent weeks, as Russia attempts to crush Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, the lack of Patriot air defense systems (and interceptor missiles to fire from them) has become a disaster.

This is where the Patriot games begin.

According to European officials, Western allies have 100 Patriot systems, the bulk of which are held by the United States at home or at bases abroad. However, only Germany has committed to sending an additional system to Ukraine.

“One of the things I do every day is talk to at least one ally, if not several, about the possibility of introducing more Patriot batteries into Ukraine,” Jake Sullivan said at a press conference on the 13th. may. Sullivan doesn’t seem to have had much success.

Six NATO allies – Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain – currently operate Patriot systems, but all except Germany have argued that They needed their systems for their own defense.

Perhaps Sullivan would have better luck if the Pentagon stopped making the same excuses and came up with its own additional system.

Additionally, the Israeli Air Force announced that it was retiring its American-made Patriot systems in favor of newer air defense systems that it used to repel Iranian missile attacks on April 13. Jerusalem has not offered any military aid to kyiv for fear of offending Russia. , whose tacit authorization it needs to bomb Iranian operations in Syria. Given Washington’s support for Israel, despite their differences on Gaza, the White House should rely on Israeli leaders to sell the systems back to Washington and transfer them to kyiv.

This is the kind of urgent action needed to turn things around in Ukraine.

“We would like to close the airspace over all our regions and have 20 to 30 (Patriot systems),” Zelenskyy said in an interview with the New York Times on Monday. ” Lets forget that. Can we have seven? (This is the minimum required to protect major Ukrainian cities, including two for Kharkiv.)

“And an American decision to give us its F-16s,” added the Ukrainian leader, clearly frustrated.

If the White House really wanted Ukraine to push back the Russians, it would make sending these Patriots a priority. And the F-16s.

And, as Zelensky has argued, it would stop barring Kiev from using American-made weapons to strike sites just across the Russian border from which missiles are fired at cities Ukrainians. Otherwise, Ukraine fights with one arm and one leg tied behind its back.

Instead, the Biden team still seems deterred by Russia’s nuclear bluster. Yet when the White House finally and quietly sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine last month, crossing Putin’s red line, the Russian autocrat’s threats of nuclear escalation proved futile. His threats are primarily aimed at dissuading the West from giving kyiv what it needs to win.

“Seven systems,” Zelenskyy repeated in the Times interview. “Do you think this is too much for the anniversary NATO summit in Washington? For a country that has been trying to become a NATO member since 2008? For a country that is fighting today for freedom and democracy in the world?

As NATO’s 75th anniversary summit approaches, a clear symbol of the United States’ commitment to supporting Ukraine to victory – and encouraging its allies to do the same – would be to stop to play Patriot games and deliver the goods.