John Bolton, former adviser to the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal stating that Ukraine’s allies were unable to provide the assistance needed to defeat Russia due to fears from the Joe Biden administration about a possible escalating conflict.
According to Bolton, the war in Ukraine is at an impasse – and that is due to US indecision caused by threats from Moscow, which a former Trump adviser calls a “bluff”. Bolton writes that Russian President Vladimir Putin can only resort to the use of nuclear weapons as a last resort, and after a year of war it has become clear that the capabilities of the Russian military are limited.
Bolton thinks the United States should change its strategy. “Today, the policy of the White House is essentially this: we support the defense of Ukraine, but not to the point that it is too effective,” he wrote.
Furthermore, Bolton notes the contradictions within NATO over the weapons to be supplied to Ukraine. According to him, most of the disputes within the alliance are due to Washington’s insistence that the Ukrainian army not strike with Western weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation, including annexed Crimea. This leads to the fact that NATO does not supply Kiev with the necessary weapons, while Russia strikes throughout Ukraine, writes Bolton.
“It appears that Biden wants Russia to ‘lose’ but is afraid to take action for Ukraine to truly ‘win’. If he believes in the official US position – the restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity – then he must endorse it and develop a plan to achieve that goal. If not, he should say so. In that case, at least we will have the opportunity to have a coherent discussion,” concludes Bolton.
Decisions on the supply of arms to Ukraine in Western countries take several months. It was only after a year of war that they decided to start tank deliveries. First cars arrived already in February, but the main deliveries will start much later. American Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine only at the end of 2023, writing The Washington Post.
The West is also delaying the supply of long-range ATACMS missiles, which kyiv has been asking for for many months, for fear that the Ukrainian army will strike with these weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Former US President Donald Trump, who announced his intention to run for President again, in March 2023 declaredthat the confrontation with Russia does not correspond to the strategic interests of the United States. He said a full-scale war in Ukraine could have been avoided by giving “certain areas” of it to Russia.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is considered Trump’s main rival for the Republican presidential nomination, has called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “territorial dispute”. He pleaded for the United States not to take part in this conflict.