U.S. Saw an Opportunity While It Pushed to Arm Ukraine
The New York Times
The White House seized a rare chance to undermine Russia and build up regional allies as it built a coalition to support the Ukrainians.
Just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian troops began running out of ammunition for their aging Soviet-era artillery.
The United States was soon scouring foreign arsenals around the globe for the right kinds of shells as part of its pledge to support Kyiv against its much better equipped adversary. But the Pentagon knew it would never be able to get enough, as fewer nations made Russian heavy artillery ammunition and many Cold War stockpiles of them had become unusable with age.
So on a Saturday that spring, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III called Gen. Mark A. Milley, his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, to figure out how many American howitzers could be quickly shipped to Ukraine along with newly made high-explosive shells.
That call set into motion a chain of events that led to a pipeline of arms for Ukraine, and a reshaping of how the United States envisions building alliances as it pushes back on Russia’s influence.
Officials in the Biden administration turned first to U.S. allies for help. But they also drew on relationships developed over years with the militaries of non-NATO countries to build a network to aid Ukraine, something the administration considers a shining example of how its focus on strengthening alliances has paid dividends to U.S. interests around the world.
On Thursday, the collective of nations, known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, is gathering at Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the 25th and final time under the Biden administration.
