OPINION: Giving the US Credit Where Credit Is Due

I will admit that on several occasions I have been a very harsh critic of my country, the United States, when it comes to not supplying Ukraine with the weapons and ammunition it needs not only to survive, but to defeat Russia on the battlefield. I have written about this many times on several media platforms, and for the most part I stand by my opinion on this critical issue.

Although I fully appreciate the tremendous amount of aid the US (and NATO) have given Ukraine, I am also very frustrated at the pace and types of military aid given to Ukraine. But I understand that politics – not threats of nuclear attack – is what is stopping the US and other NATO countries from supplying the military aid that Ukraine needs to actually win the war, not to just survive another bloody day.

Having said that, I also want to point out that the United States has been, and continues to be, by far the single largest provider not only of military aid to Ukraine, but all forms of aid.

For example, in terms of total aid to Ukraine since February 2022, the US has sent Ukraine $78.7 billion. Comparatively, the entire EU has sent US $76.2 billion. That is not an insignificant amount, to be sure, but keep in mind that is the total for 27 of the wealthiest economies on earth, versus the total contribution of just one (admittedly) wealthy nation, the United States. That should put this issue into some sort of perspective.

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Moreover, in just military aid, America has sent $47.7 billion, while the next largest contributor, Germany, has sent $8.6 billion. I believe it can safely be said that the German economy, while experiencing some recent glitches, is by far the largest economy in Europe and can certainly find a way to contribute vastly more resources in support of Ukraine. But I must also add here that the transfer of 18 Leopard tanks and other armored vehicles to Ukraine is very much appreciated. Thank you, Germany.

On July 25, the Pentagon announced another aid package of $400 million including a variety of munitions for advanced air defense systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones. Significantly, this is the first time the US has provided Ukraine with the mini-Black Hornet nano drone surveillance drones. These Norwegian made drones have already been used by the Armed Forces of Ukrainian (AFU) forces in the past to good effect, and this additional number will surely add to the ability of the AFU to detect and target the deeply entrenched lines of Russian forces currently opposing AFU advances during the counteroffensive.

In addition, this most recent aid package includes: additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), Stinger anti-aircraft systems, howitzer artillery rounds, 32 Stryker armored vehicles, demolition equipment, mortars, Hydra-70 rockets and 28 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

All of these weapon systems and ammunition, especially the NASAMS and demolition equipment, will be vital to ensuring the AFU can successfully advance through the immense minefields and also survive the relentless aerial and artillery attacks from Russian forces as they advance meter by bloody meter.

So, as much as I criticize what I often call the glacial American (and NATO) support of Ukraine, the fact is that without the incredible and unprecedented support from the United States and NATO, the situation in Ukraine would almost certainly be much different, with an out-gunned AFU and Ukrainian partisans fighting heroically against a much larger and better equipped Russian invasion force.

With the continued – and hopefully unwavering – support of the United States and NATO, that grim scenario has not, and I believe, will not come to pass.

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.