U.S. Plans To Impose New Sanctions Against Russia’s Vagner Private Military Group

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on January 20 said the United States and other allies of Ukraine have assembled a new package of arms for Ukraine that they believe is sufficient for success once Kyiv’s forces are trained on the equipment.

Austin told a news conference at Ramstein U.S. Air Base in Germany that the package includes tanks, but not the German-made battle tanks that Ukraine has requested, or U.S. Abrams tanks.

The package that Austin and U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlined after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group includes an array of howitzers, stingers, armored vehicles, and ammunition, along with “tank capacity” offered by Poland.

“This is a very, very capable package,” Austin said. “If deployed properly, it will enable [Ukrainian forces] to be successful.”

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The two U.S. military leaders said Ukrainian troops are being trained on equipment that has already been sent “as we speak,” noting that Ukraine is preparing a counteroffensive for the spring.

“We’re really focused on making sure Ukraine has the potential it needs to succeed. We have a window of opportunity here between now and the spring…whenever they commence their operation, their counteroffensive,” Austin told reporters.

Austin brushed aside a question about Germany’s commitment after reports that Berlin would only send the requested Leopard tanks if the United States sent M1 Abrams tanks.

Germany is a reliable ally and it will continue to exercise leadership, despite Berlin not yet approving the transfer of the tanks, he said.

Austin said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius had announced earlier on January 20 that Germany had not made a decision on sending Leopard 2 tanks, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has specifically requested.

Germany must approve sending the German-made tanks from the NATO countries that have them. Austin also said the transfer of Leopard tanks had not been linked to the U.S. sending Abrams tanks.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine will still fight for a supply of modern heavy armor.

“Every day we make it more obvious that there is no alternative to taking a decision about tanks,” he said in his evening video address.

Milley said the 54 countries represented in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which was formed in April, remain united in their resolve to support Ukraine.

“Over my 43 years in uniform, this is the most unified I’ve seen NATO,” Milley said, adding that there’s been no wavering even as the battlefield situation has intensified in recently months. The contact group meetings have played an important role, he said, in sending a “clear, unambiguous demonstration of the resolve of the allied nations.”

Milley said that while the Ukrainian forces have executed two successful counteroffensives in Kharkiv and Kherson, they have difficult battles ahead of them.

“From a military standpoint, I still maintain that for this year it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from all, every inch of…Russian-occupied Ukraine,” he said.

The latest U.S. aid package for Ukraine announced by the Pentagon includes eight Avenger air-defense systems, 350 Humvees, 53 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, more than 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and rockets, and missiles for the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the announcement of new arms deliveries and said he expects further developments in the debate on the possible delivery of German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The fact that Ukraine is now being provided with hundreds of new armored vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, and battle tanks will make a huge difference for the country, Stoltenberg told journalists.

The support will not only enable the Ukrainians to defend themselves against new Russian offensives but will also enable them to launch their own offensives to retake territory, he said.

Consultations will continue on the question of whether Germany will supply Leopard 2 tanks, Stoltenberg added.

Prior to the meeting on January 20, Zelenskiy again pleaded with Ukraine’s allies to accelerate deliveries of modern heavy weapons, including tanks.

Addressing the contact group by video link, Zelenskiy said that the allied partners needed “not to bargain about different numbers of tanks, but to open that principal supply that will stop evil.”

Speaking during the meeting, Austin said Ukraine is racing against time in the face or Russia’s onslaught and Western help for Kyiv must come faster.

“Russia is regrouping, recruiting, and trying to re-equip,” Austin said at the start of the meeting. “This is not a moment to slow down. It’s a time to dig deeper. The Ukrainian people are watching us.”

With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, and AFP