Iryna Pohorila07:40, 07/04/24

The general also expressed the opinion that for greater efficiency, it is necessary to remove any restrictions on the use of American weapons provided to the Armed Forces.

The statement of the White House that Ukraine was allegedly provided with everything necessary to defeat the Russian invaders is not true.

This was stated by the former supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, General Philip Breedlove, the Voice of America reports . He also supported the position regarding the need to cancel restrictions on strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation by American weapons.

“People from the White House, John Kirby in particular, have said publicly that we are giving Ukraine everything it needs to win. I cannot agree. He used to work with me and I know him well, but now he is taking a political position, and voices political messages. No, we do not provide Ukraine with everything [necessary, – ed.],” the military officer emphasized.

He expressed the opinion that for greater efficiency, it would first of all be necessary to remove any restrictions on the use of American weapons already provided to the Armed Forces. So that Ukraine does not have to wait “for Russian troops to cross the border … for Russia to open fire or attack before responding.”

Breedlove also emphasized the need for F-16 fighters for Ukraine to have a chance to win. At the same time, Ukraine should “take its doctrine beyond the limits of the historical Soviet basis, which tends to consider aviation as an extension of ground forces”, and the leadership of the Ukrainian Air Force should be included in the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

“To ensure air superiority at the time and place of its choosing, Ukraine must change its historical doctrine and conduct an integrated air-to-ground campaign. Only through such integration, which creates synergy between ground and air operations, can Ukraine contribute to the strengthening of the army on the battlefield,” the report says.

Breedlove recalled how Ukrainians in 2022 “begged” the world: “Shut the sky”, and NATO headquarters were developing options on how to do it. “Now I would like to draw attention to the fact that most of the options we proposed at the time were rejected. They were considered too provocative “messages” to Putin, which could lead to an even more powerful invasion,” the general shared.

But in fact, everything happened just the opposite. “It was precisely what we didn’t do that led to a large-scale invasion,” Breedlove said, comparing the situation in 2014 and 2022.

“We’ll never know, but it’s clear that fear prevailed, and I think that because we didn’t take any action [at the start of the war in 2014, ed.], we sent a signal. We started talking back in 2014 about the two things that we were most afraid of in the US, namely nuclear threats and the potential involvement of [US troops] in the conflict in Europe,” the general explained the weakness of the Western position.

Breedlove called intimidation the most effective weapon of Putin. “We constantly hear nuclear threats. Russia makes them about every week. We constantly hear about the expansion of the war. The Russian Federation mentions it about every 7-14 days. And, by the way, about half of these messages contain such warnings. So Putin’s campaign of intimidation is his most effective weapon”.

In addition, Breedlove warns that allies tasked with deterring Russian aggression are themselves “almost completely restrained,” while military professionals are taught starting at the military college: “Contain your enemy. Don’t let him deter you. Try to take the initiative and maintain possession of it”.

“Instead, we are being held back, and we are reacting to what Russia initiates. We are not really taking the initiative against Russia. We in the West must be unrestrained. We need to have the moral courage to resolve this,” Breedlove concluded.

(C)UNIAN 2024