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The project in Germany would streamline a formula and assistance that the United States and its allies created on the fly after Russia’s invasion, officials said.
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By Eric Schmitt
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will review how the United States and its allies exercise and equip the Ukrainian military, reflecting what officials say is the Biden administration’s long-term commitment to supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The proposal would streamline an education and assistance formula that was created on the fly after Russia’s invasion in February. The formula would be under a new bachelor command founded in Germany that would be headed by a high-ranking U. S. general, according to several military personnel. and administrative officers.
Gen. Chrismost sensatoher G. Cavoli, the most sensible U. S. officer in Europe, recently submitted a proposal outlining the adjustments to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, officials said. Austin and his more sensible advisers are reviewing the plan and are expected to make a final resolution in the coming weeks, senior U. S. officials said, adding that the White House and Pentagon are moving closer. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe confidential discussions.
Just as the Pentagon has committed more than $16 billion in military aid to Ukraine, a combination of rapid shipments of stockpiles as contracts for weapons to be delivered over the next 3 years, the new command signals that the U. S. is in the U. S. in Ukraine. The U. S. expects Russia’s risk to Ukraine and its neighbors will persist for many more years. Existing and former senior U. S. officials said.
“This recognizes the truth of our Ukrainian partners’ vital security assistance project,” said Adm. James G. Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. ” It will also create a formal security design in which our allies and partners can sign up to put their apparatus and education in Ukrainian hands. “
Gen. David H. Petraeus, America’s most sensible former commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, agreed. “This would be a very, very appropriate initiative,” he said, “given the scale of the American effort and the contributions of our NATO allies. “. “
The new command, which would report to General Cavoli, would execute decisions made through the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, a coalition of 40 countries that the Defense Ministry created after the Russian invasion to meet Ukraine’s wishes and demands. Senior military officials from member countries met in Brussels this week.
Some three hundred more people would be committed to the mission, which would be in Wiesbaden, Germany, the headquarters of the U. S. Army. Much of the education of Ukrainian infantrymen about U. S. weapons systems is a major in Europe. The U. S. is already taking place there or nearby.
The changes, which are intended to give a formal design to what has been improvised since the war began, are more or less based on U. S. education and assistance efforts. U. S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan for the past two decades.
The proposal was born this year with General Tod D. Wolters, General Cavoli’s predecessor, and was refined after General Cavoli took office in July.
Lt. Gen. Christopher T. Donahue, who commanded the U. S. evacuation of Afghanistan in August 2021, has coordinated much of the U. S. military’s assistance to Ukraine from the scene in recent months.
From his headquarters in Wiesbaden, Gen. Donahue, a former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division who now commands the army’s 18th Airborne Corps, helped oversee training, spoke to Ukrainian generals about his desires on the battlefield and leveraged his special operations experience. advising their Ukrainian counterparts.
But Gen. Donahue and his staff, who have been deployed to Poland and Germany since the early days of the war, are expected to return to their headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, next month, Defense Department officials said.
So the Pentagon would want someone else to run the more formal command structure.
Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, declined to discuss the proposal, but added in an email, “We frequently evaluate and refine our internal posture and processes to ensure that we provide Ukraine with applicable and timely security. “Assistance to cope with your maximum vital desires. urgent wishes on the battlefield and to strengthen its lasting force to deter long-term Russian aggression.
U. S. officials have not publicly discussed the proposal, in part because Pentagon officials are still working out the plan, but also to feed Russian President Vladimir V’s narrative. Putin says his country is at war with the USThe US and NATO, not Ukraine.
Still, the Pentagon has taken steps to begin the expected consolidation of the team’s tasks. Over the summer, a mobile logisticist who matched Ukraine’s demands with donations from the army of more than 40 countries moved to Wiesbaden from Stuttgart, Germany.
The little-known organization, officially called the International Donor Coordination Center, with officials from more than two dozen countries, plays a central role in supporting the Ukrainian military as its desires on the battlefield become more complicated.
The Pentagon said Wednesday it would send another $1. 1 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine, adding 18 high-mobility artillery rocket launchers, or HIMARS. New weapons will be ordered from the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, and will take “a few years” to be delivered, a senior Defense Ministry official told reporters.
Ukrainian and U. S. officials say weekly or biweekly Pentagon announcements of new deliveries of weapons and ammunition from U. S. stockpiles have given senior commanders in Kyiv the confidence to plan simultaneous complex offensives, such as those in the Kherson region in the south and Kharkiv in the northeast.
Ukrainian infantrymen are temporarily expelled from the battlefield to be told how to use American and Western weapons systems. About 2,000 Ukrainians have so far been trained in U. S. artillery and drones, according to Pentagon officials.
Wiesbaden would be the location of the US-led exercise and assistance. In the US, however, other Western countries exercise Ukrainian infantrymen elsewhere. Britain, for example, introduced a program during the summer to exercise up to 10,000 Ukrainian recruits in weaponry, patrol tactics, first aid and others. Skills in British bases. Denmark announced this month that it would launch a program for Ukrainian recruits.
Shortly after Russia’s first invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, the United States and several other Western countries established centers in western Ukraine. Special operations forces trained thousands of Ukrainians before the new confrontation ended with instructions.
Because of the absence of U. S. troops lately in Ukraine, offering technical assistance has been difficult, according to U. S. officials.
“It’s much more complicated with our allies and partners now,” Maj. Gen. Steven G said. Edwards, head of U. S. Special Operations ForcesThe U. S. government in Europe speaks at a security forum this month. It’s not at all the same as before. “
The proposed command would oversee formal education in Germany’s educational camps, as well as technical centers that have been established in neighboring countries.
A 50-member army repair team at a base in Poland, for example, provided technical assistance to Ukrainian infantrymen on how to repair broken weapons provided across the United States, adding M777 howitzers. Engineer’s spare parts.
Since the program began in June, more than a dozen teleconference channels with more than a hundred Ukrainian contacts have been established, army officials said.
“That’s the proverbial situation of David and Goliath, right?” said command master chief Peter C. at the security forum. Musselman, the high-ranking special operations soldier enlisted in Europe. “And David is doing pretty well right now. “
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