NATO allies "inching closer" to deploying soldiers to Ukraine

By richardbrown // 2024-05-22

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A New York Times article claims that several close allies of the United States within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are "inching closer" to deploying more troops to Ukraine – ostensibly just to train Kyiv's armed forces. These deployments would be joining the small number of declared Western units on the ground, including American military contractors tasked with repairing U.S.-supplied weapons systems used by Ukrainian forces. Faced with troop shortages, the government in Kyiv has requested that NATO and the U.S. send military advisors within Ukraine to "help train 150,000 recruits," aiming to use the expertise of Western military advisors to expedite their deployment to the front lines. This potential move represents “another blurring of a previous red line” and could involve the U.S. and European Union "more directly in the war." Although the White House has publicly opposed sending instructors, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. indicated that additional noncombatant deployments to Ukraine might be inevitable. "We'll get there eventually, over time," said Brown, adding that, for now, any effort to place additional Western forces in Ukraine would put "a bunch of NATO trainers at risk." The White House remains "adamant" about not putting American troops, including instructors, on the ground in Ukraine and has urged NATO allies to follow suit. American instructors were previously part of a NATO training program in Yavoriv, western Ukraine, but were withdrawn in early 2022. Russia has since targeted the facility with multiple missile strikes. (Related: Ukrainian generals warn that Kyiv's reserve forces are DEPLETED as Russian forces advance in Kharkiv.)

Deploying NATO instructors to Ukraine presents many challenges

Deploying NATO instructors to Ukraine presents challenges, including the need to redirect already limited air defenses away from the battlefield to protect deployed military advisors from Russian air and missile strikes. The U.S. would also be obligated to defend NATO instructors from attacks, potentially dragging America further into the conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron initially raised the idea of sending NATO troops to Ukraine in February. Since then, Estonia and Lithuania have expressed support for dispatching instructors or other kinds of noncombatant support troops. In the meantime, Britain, France, and Germany are developing a plan to send contractors to maintain the weapons systems they have deployed in Ukraine. Although the U.S. has banned defense contractors from entering Ukraine, a small number have been allowed under State Department authority to work on specific systems like Patriot air defenses. NATO has trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops in Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. However, Western tactics have proven inadequate during the summer 2023 offensive. The Times described the Ukrainian battlefield as "far different and more intense than what American forces have fought on in recent years." According to anonymous U.S. military officials, training inside Ukraine would enable American instructors "to more quickly gather information about the innovations occurring on the Ukrainian front lines, potentially allowing them to adapt their training." Learn more about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine at UkraineWitness.com. Watch this report warning how further NATO participation in the Russian special military operation would only worsen and further escalate the conflict in Ukraine. This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.

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Deploying NATO instructors to Ukraine presents many challenges

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