“New points of tension” have arisen between the United States and Ukraine due to sabotage on the Nord Stream, a grueling battle for the strategically insignificant Bakhmut, and Kiev’s desire to regain Crimea. Growing divisions could herald a big split in Washington and Kiev’s positions on how the military conflict with Russia should end. writing Politico, who spoke with 10 US officials, lawmakers and experts.
According to senior American officials, the unity between Washington and Kiev is “fragile”. In particular, many members of US President Joe Biden’s administration fear that Ukraine is spending too much manpower and weapons on the Battle of Bakhmut, which could prevent the Ukrainian Armed Forces from launching a counterattack. – major offensive in the spring.
White House sources also said administration officials “complained” about Kiev’s constant demands for arms supplies, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had failed to express the gratitude he was owed to them.
Additionally, US intelligence has established that an unnamed “pro-Ukrainian group” may be involved in the sabotage of Nord Stream. Intelligence services do not believe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or his aides were involved in the bombings, but Washington has warned Kiev that such actions are inadmissible.
At the same time, US officials believe that Zelenskyyy’s demands to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity within the 1991 borders, that is, with Crimea as part of the country, will not than prolong hostilities.
Growing divisions could herald a “big split” in U.S. and Ukrainian talks over how the military conflict might end, Politico notes. Although Biden pledged strong support for Kiev, Washington made it clear to the Ukrainian side that the United States could not endlessly fund Ukrainians at their current level. The number of Republicans is also growing, which expresses skepticism about further support for Ukraine, the newspaper writes.
At the same time, some analysts point out that disagreements between the United States and Ukraine existed even before the start of a full-scale military conflict in the country. “Zelenskyyy has already made harsh remarks about the United States, and the White House has disagreed with him <...> but it hasn't changed or undermined general support (in Kiev from Washington)," said Shelby Magid, deputy director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasian Center.
