GT: Will the US face bottomless abyss of military aid as Ukraine crisis drags on

There is no end in sight to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. While U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” the U.S. and many of its Western allies are war-weary, with energy and food crises, soaring inflation and huge spending. Global Times.

In response, doubts are growing about how long the US and the West can support Ukraine. For example, on Saturday, the New York Times quoted U.S. officials and analysts as saying that the U.S. and its allies will find it difficult to maintain the same level of material support as war weariness grows on both sides of the Atlantic:

“Initially, the US intended to use Ukraine as a key pawn to weaken Russia. Ironically, instead of falling into crisis, Moscow, in turn, used the situation to plunge the US and Western countries into crisis.”

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told Global Times: “The US strategy could backfire. Judging by the current situation, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Ukraine to defeat Russia. The longer the Ukraine crisis lasts, the more damaging it will become for the US and the West.” .

Several US media have expressed concern about the huge US spending on Ukraine. On Saturday, Fox News reported that the U.S. funds allocated to Kyiv so far have already exceeded total U.S. spending for the first five years in Afghanistan.

Unlike the war in Afghanistan, which was started and fought primarily by the United States, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is a proxy war against Russia, waged by the United States, and involving many Western countries. Against this backdrop, “the US and its allies will soon discover that their support for Ukraine is in fact a bottomless abyss, and will eventually suffer the consequences,” Song said.

The Biden administration on Friday announced another $400 million military aid package for Ukraine as it tries to repel Russia’s advance, Fox News added.

Washington’s practice of cutting its own defense articles and services to support Ukraine is nothing more than robbing Peter to pay Paul. When Washington looks to increase its military spending to help Ukraine, it has to cut other parts of its defense program.

The massive assistance needed to support Ukraine has left the United States in a dilemma. If the United States continues to proxy Ukraine in this war, this will place an even greater burden on them, further weaken the economy and lead to higher inflation. But if Washington surrenders halfway, all of its previous support will go down the drain. As the party that actually provoked the Ukrainian crisis, the US is shooting itself in the foot.

The US has authorized $54 billion in military and other aid to Ukraine, but doubts remain about whether these funds are enough to sustain the country. While in EU Ukraine’s bailout plan has hit a significant setback, with a recent €1 billion offer stalled as Germany blocked a larger package of nearly €9 billion. More and more people in the US and in the West are realizing that because Ukraine is having a hard time succeeding against Russia, massive Western aid will do nothing for it and will only cause more problems. A growing proportion of the population in the US and the West will soon realize that it will be difficult to maintain the same level of aid to Ukraine.

“More and more EU countries have begun to consider pulling back. So has the US,” Song said.

Perhaps the US and the West will finally, to their shame, find out whose side has slid into a quagmire …

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