Article of Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief likely aimed to influence US debate on Ukraine – Politico

Recent statements by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, have sparked "partisan passions" in the American Congress.

Source: Politico media outlet

Quote: "The stunning admission by Gen. Valery Zaluzhnyy, commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, is reverberating on Capitol Hill — where Republicans are arguing his comments are a reason to rethink America’s as-long-as-it-takes support for Kyiv. And that could make Ukraine’s uphill climb against Russia and in the halls of Congress even steeper."

Details: Politico notes that the Senate will most likely approve increasing military aid for Ukraine. Yet Mike Johnson, speaker of the Chamber of Representatives, has to convince his more sceptical colleagues.

Quote: "Zaluzhnyy’s message seems aimed at influencing the American congressional debate. The general, like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is desperate for more advanced fighter jets, drones, longer-range missiles and artillery to punch through Russian lines."

More details: In the article, Zaluzhnyi stressed that "the Armed Forces of Ukraine need advanced technologies" to end the war.

Politico states that Kyiv "is increasingly eager to move beyond waiting for donations, and is looking to start partnering with the U.S. and European defense industries to enter into co-production deals so they can build their own weapons".

Senator J.D. Vance, who had openly called to stop the military aid for Kyiv, claimed that Zaluzhnyi’s statements exposed deep underlying disputes in the Ukrainian leadership.

"Zelenkyy’s war aims are not consistent with reality, and you have some of his inner circle pushing back," he told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday. He believes the war has to end with Russia controlling some Ukrainian territory and a negotiated settlement. 

Senator Josh Hawley, who is also sceptical about increasing aid for Kyiv, said that Zaluzhnyi’s sincerity "blew a major hole in the administration’s Ukraine policy". He thinks Ukraine’s position is that "we need to keep funding Ukraine, in all aspects, not just militarily, we need to provide money for their pensions and all the rest so that it can remain a stalemate".

He added that it naturally raises the question of what the endgame strategy is exactly: "What’s the plan here? I don’t think they have a plan".

Zaluzhnyi’s assessment is "consistent with what we’ve been informed," said Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "There was hope that they would make more gains".

Meanwhile, Politico noted that the arguments of Vance and Hawley remain the minority in the Senate since the majority of senators from both parties still state they want to continue helping Ukraine push past the stalemate.

Yet, the number of opponents is still growing, especially as US attention has shifted to helping Israel.

Politico stresses that Zaluhznyi’s comments have not weakened the support of the most active Ukraine’s supporters in Congress.

Specifically, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senate Armed Services Committee member, noted that "the nature of the war in Ukraine is that it will be mile-by-mile".

He believes that the US must continue supporting Ukraine since it is vital for American national security "even though there won’t be a gigantic breakthrough".

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