June 29, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

The US may allow American PMCs to operate in Ukraine


USA will allow private American security companies (formerly Blackwater and now Akademi) to operate in Ukraine, as they have done in the past in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In particular, they will carry out a mission to send special “technical” mercenary groups to Ukraine, as it became known from the message CNN citing four senior Pentagon officials.

Of course, through companies, the Americans can also send “ordinary” military personnel, whom they will present as their employees. So no one will be able to check and prove anything (as has been happening for a long time).

Also, don't forget that similar Russian organization “Wagner” managed to win the bloodiest battle since the end of World War II – the Battle of Bakhmut. EU plans similar actions and wants to send military personnel to Ukraine as… “instructors”!

In short, both the EU and the US are looking for ways to send troops into Ukrainian territory through the back door. The dispatch of “experts” is still being worked out in technical details by administration officials and has not yet received President Joe Biden's final signature. The measures will come into force this year, immediately after their approval, and will allow the Pentagon to award contracts to American security companies to work in Ukraine, which will happen for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, that is, since February 2022.

Officials did not talk about direct military involvement but expressed hope “What will this speed up? maintenance and repair of weapons systems used by the Ukrainian military.” Because of the elections, US President Joe Biden will say that we are talking about special “technical buildings“.

Democratic administration officials began seriously reconsidering those restrictions in recent months, officials said, as Russia continued to make territorial gains on the battlefield.and American funding for Ukraine has stalled in Congress. By according to officialsthey understand that allowing experienced American “contractors” (mercenaries) financed by the US government to maintain a presence in Ukraine means that they can help repair damaged expensive equipment much faster.

One of the advanced systems that officials say is likely to will require regular maintenance is the F-16 fighter, which Ukraine is due to receive at the end of this year. Current and former officials familiar with discussions about sending mercenaries to Ukraine emphasize that the change in policy will not lead to “overwhelming presence” American contractors, as was the case in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The leadership of the European Union proposed sending soldiers to Ukraine as instructors to train Ukrainian troopssaid Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Peter Szijjártó, who participated in a meeting with EU colleagues in Luxembourg. “The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, proposed that EU countries begin training Ukrainian soldiers on Ukrainian territory. This is a very dangerous proposal that would mean crossing another red line.” he told Hungarian journalists in Luxembourg after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

He noted that Hungary considers such an initiative unacceptable, since it could become “practically the first step towards sending European soldiers to Ukraine.”



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