On Wednesday morning, Ukraine was met with an egregious demonstration of the potential extent and boundaries of U.S. assistance.
After US President Donald Trump withheld his desire for the US ally to prevail in the conflict with Russia, Kyiv welcomed Washington’s top diplomat, with the expectation that he would bring about a long-overdue change in the US’s employment of long-range missiles.
In addition to providing support during a pivotal period in the conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit was timed to contrast with President Trump’s remarks, which were perhaps the most significant foreign policy moment of his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
However, a lot of people in Ukraine were watching Blinken’s visit to see whether it would signal that the United States will permit its ally’s military to utilize long-range weaponry supplied by the West to launch strikes farther into Russian territory.
Demanding a shift in direction, Kyiv has been adamant that Western sanctions have prevented it from taking action as it struggles to hold onto territory on two fronts: the 500 square miles it took during its audacious incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region, and the vital towns on the eastern front lines that Moscow’s military is eyeing.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden made a suggestion that, following months of opposition from the White House, Kyiv could soon receive what it wants.
When questioned by reporters about whether the United States will remove limitations on Ukraine’s use of long-range weaponry, Biden replied, “We’re working that out right now.”
Harris gave voice to the United States’ support for Ukraine on the debate stage on Tuesday night. She informed Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin “would eat you for lunch” and that “Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now” if Trump had been in the White House when Moscow’s soldiers invaded in February 2022.
However, the confrontation also revealed how flimsy such support may be.
Trump dodged the issue when it was posed twice about whether or not he wanted Ukraine to win the conflict. “I want the war to stop,” he said, going on to say that he would work with Moscow to reach an agreement and that his goal was “to save lives.”
Prior to taking office, Trump declared he would terminate the war within twenty-four hours, but he did not specify when.
His remarks would increase worries in Kiev that a Trump administration would withdraw American assistance and try to conclude the conflict in a way that benefited Russia.
“Thudding Into the Titanic”
The Kremlin has downplayed the differences between the two candidates, even though Kyiv may be eager to learn the results of the election in November.
Last week, Putin made a lighthearted remark in which he said that he had backed Harris partly due to her “infectious” laugh.
Considering Trump’s past adulation for the Russian president and the growing signs that he would not continue the U.S. backing for Ukraine’s military effort, it was largely perceived as his most recent naughty intervention.
Additionally, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, stated on Wednesday that she did not see why the argument was significant at all, drawing a comparison to a boxing bout aboard the Titanic.
Who do you believe prevailed? Does this have an impact in any way? Zakharova stated to Radio Sputnik, a Russian news agency. “The iceberg will appear in fifteen minutes.”
Regardless of party politics, the United States “maintains a negative attitude, an unfriendly attitude toward our country,” according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who made this statement later on Wednesday.
When asked how Moscow would respond if the United States lifted its restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons, Peskov told reporters that Moscow would probably have already made that decision and that it would react “appropriately.”
However, he added that the war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin refers to as a “special military operation,” is a response “to all these actions.”
