The war in Ukraine will be long and the priority is “to ensure that the country maintains sufficient international support for next year.” These are words expressed on Sunday by its president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The main threat to Ukrainian interests, beyond the Russian troops occupying its territory, is the Republican Party’s legislative blockade for the United States to maintain its pace of military aid. Zelensky held two meetings this Monday in kyiv that are understood in this context: one, with the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin; the other, with the president of the Fox network, Lachlan Murdoch.
Ukrainian media have highlighted Zelensky’s meeting with Murdoch over Austin’s. The influence of Fox as a reference medium for Republican Party voters is decisive, and until now it has maintained an editorial position close to critics of economic assistance to Kiev, who consider it a waste of money. Chief among them is former President Donald Trump. “For whatever reason, people imagine that war is like a movie and that there are no long breaks, and that there will be surprises every day. But no, this will not end as quickly as we wanted,” said the Ukrainian president. Zelensky, according to the presidential office, also detailed to the Fox representatives his peace plan, which involves the return of all the territories illegally annexed by Russia. Prominent voices from the Republican Party, with a presence on Fox, argue that Ukraine will inevitably have to cede part of its provinces to Moscow.
The Ukrainian presidency has given Murdoch’s visit the same importance that it gives to the most relevant heads of state. Before the meeting with Zelensky, the Fox delegation met with the president’s right-hand man, Andrii Yermak, and participated in a briefing on the situation of the conflict with the presence of senior military commanders, the most prominent of which was the commander of the Russian Army. Earth, Oleksandr Sirskii. Zelensky also presented a Medal of Merit to Fox journalist Benjamin Hall, who lost a leg in a Russian attack in March 2022.
Coinciding with Murdoch’s trip, the US Secretary of Defense has made a surprise visit to kyiv together with the commander of the US Army in Europe, Christopher Cavoli. Both have discussed with the Ukrainian political and military leadership the situation on the front and the status of Pentagon supplies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The amount of 60 billion dollars that US President Joe Biden wants to allocate to kyiv is frozen due to the blockade in Congress and the Senate imposed by the Republican Party.
Time is against Ukraine because the Pentagon warned on November 10 that it had already consumed 95% of the $62 billion previously approved to assist Ukrainian troops. The arsenals of Ukraine’s NATO allies are already at minimum levels and the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeri Zaluzhni, admitted in early November that he does not foresee the situation, in terms of ammunition supply, improving in, at least one year; which makes it “very unlikely” that there will be major advances on the front in 2024.
“The message I bring you, Mr. President, is that the United States is with you. We will be with you in the long term,” Austin told Zelensky. These words were widely highlighted by the Ukrainian media because they contrast with what has frequently been stated from the White House, starting with President Biden himself: “We will be with you as long as it is necessary.”
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To the Republican position critical of the “blank check” for Kiev, as defined in writing by prominent conservative congressmen, we must add that the United States prioritizes military support for Israel in its invasion of Gaza and the reinforcement of its military presence in the East. Half. The crisis in Gaza, Zelensky acknowledged last week, is substantially affecting the pace of military transfers to Ukraine, especially artillery ammunition.
Dismissals of senior officials
On the eve of Austin and Murdoch’s visit, Zelensky announced that he was dismissing the commander of the Medical Forces of the Ukrainian army, Tetiana Ostashenko. In recent months, Ostashenko has focused criticism on the poor preparation of healthcare services for troops in combat and also on the poor quality of equipment. Zelensky pointed to both issues when justifying her replacement. Ukraine has had to face an army whose assets have multiplied almost fivefold in a year, incorporating paramedic units in record time to a 1,800-kilometer war front, not seen in Europe since World War II.
In addition to the dismissal of Ostashenko, the council of ministers this Monday relieved the two main commanders of the Ukrainian cyberespionage service. Yurii Shchihol and Viktor Zhora are being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly favoring a group of companies between 2020 and 2022, acquiring their computer programs in exchange for bribes valued at 1.5 million euros. Both the US Government and the European Commission demand from kyiv deep reforms against the endemic corruption that still affects Ukraine.
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