Ukraine War: US-led Alliance of Western Allies Formed in Efforts to Resist Russian Aggression | World News
A new US-led coalition, ready to form, Western allies is forming to help Ukraine fight and – they hope – defeat the invading Russian forces.
A group of more than 40 countries, including many from Europe, including the UK, but also from countries as far afield as Kenya, Australia and South Korea, are preparing for the long haul, with plans to maintained a vital line of weapons for the Ukrainian Army for months if not years.
They know that their involvement – albeit remotely – in Russia’s war in Ukraine increases the risk of a direct military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed sides.
Russia says it wants to reduce risk of nuclear war ‘significantly’ – Ukraine News Live
Such a prospect worried the West in the early days of the conflict.
But the proliferation of weapons donated to Ukraine, switching from ammunition to tanks, shows the hardiness of the West in its resolve to oppose Russia’s actions and weakens Moscow so that it can no longer exist. continue to make the same weapon. war against a neighbor.
Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, rallied the allies together at a vast US airbase in Germany for a first meeting on Tuesday. It is a forum set up to meet monthly – a signal that this is a lasting change in Europe’s security environment.
“Ukraine clearly believes they can win, and so does everyone here,” he told attendees.
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rallied the allies together at a vast US airbase in Germany
Main developments:
As for the threat of escalation leading to a nuclear confrontation – which Russia has threatened – Mr. Austin told reporters afterward: “Nobody wants to see a nuclear war. No one. can win it”.
He added: “There’s always the possibility that something could happen, but I think it’s futile and dangerous to talk about and speculate about the use of nuclear weapons.”
Time ‘is not on Ukraine’s side’
General Mark Milley, the top US military officer, stressed the need to supply Ukraine with more conventional weapons than ever before as the country faces a new Russian offensive in the east. when successfully repelled Russian forces after their attempt to capture the capital Kyiv.
Speaking in closed session, he called the coming weeks “important” and said time “was not on Ukraine’s side”.
General Milley said: “The outcome of this battle, right here, today, depends on the people in this room. The Ukrainians will fight. We need to make sure they have the means to fight. .”
Making a similar point, Liz Truss, the British foreign secretary, declared that the allies would never feel safe again if Russian President Vladimir Putin achieved his goal of conquering Ukraine.
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“We cannot be complacent – Ukraine’s fate remains in the balance,” she will say in a speech at Mansion House in London, according to previously published remarks.
“And let’s be clear – if Putin succeeds, there will be countless more suffering across Europe and terrible consequences globally. We will never feel safe again. We must prepare for the long haul and redouble our support for Ukraine.”
Ms. Truss is set to push countries to donate heavy weapons, tanks and planes “to dig into our inventory, ramp up production. We need to do all of these things.”
The truth is that Western weapons fired by Ukrainian troops are killing Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
Armed Forces Secretary James Heappey on Tuesday even went as far as to say that it is perfectly legal for Ukraine to strike military targets on Russian soil with Western weapons if it wants to pursue its own routes. logistics and supplies.
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It is therefore not surprising that Russia perceives the West’s support of Ukraine as effectively waging a proxy war with Russia.
“War means war,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a television interview this week.
Currently, the bloodshed, carnage and instability caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine lies within Ukraine’s borders. However, there are signs of instability on Moldova’s side, amid fears it could become a new front for Russia.
In the end, Western allies seem to have calculated that President Putin can only be stopped if his forces are defeated in Ukraine – which is only possible with Western support, even when that ultimately means running the risk of a wider war in Europe in the process.
