Time is not on Kiev’s side in Ukrainian conflict — former US officials, Condoleeza Rice, Robert Gates

Ukraine’s economy and military potential are currently fully dependent on the Western support while time is not on the side of Ukraine, ex-US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (in office 2005-2009) and former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (in office from 2006 to 2011) said in a joint opinion piece published by the Washington Post on its website on Saturday.

They assert that Ukraine’s economy and military capability entirely depend on supplies from the West, above all, from the US. If the Ukrainian army does not achieve a major breakthrough, Western pressure on Kiev to negotiate a ceasefire "will grow as months of military stalemate pass," the authors note.

According to them, "the only way to avoid such a scenario is for the United States and its allies to urgently provide Ukraine with a dramatic increase in military supplies and capability — sufficient to deter a renewed Russian offensive and to enable Ukraine to push back Russian forces in the east and south." "What is needed now are decisions by the United States and its allies to provide the Ukrainians the additional military equipment they need — above all, mobile armor," the former US officials write.

According to the Pentagon’s estimates, since the onset of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, the US has provided over $24.2 bln in military aid to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other Russian officials have repeatedly noted the danger of Western weapon supplies to Ukraine ending up in other regions. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov cautioned that the militarization of Ukraine by the West directly threatens European and global security.