Since the ongoing escalation of tensions in Ukraine, western governments have been fast to deploy military supplies to the capital city of Ukraine, Kyiv. The United States has approved an additional military aid package worth 200 million dollars, which includes ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and other vital military applications. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has provided a substantial number of anti-tank infantry weapons and agreed to a deal that will allow Ukraine to loan money to acquire British-made warships.
According to senior administration officials, the move raises total US security aid to Ukraine to 1.2 billion dollars since January 2021, and to US$3.2 billion since 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.
Since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has had a long history of political instability and international interference. So, what has US assistance to Ukraine looked like since the dissolution of the Soviet Union?
In 1991, Ukraine held the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal, and the United States' primary foreign policy goal was to secure Ukraine's nuclear weapons. According to reports, the US assisted Ukraine in dismantling missiles, bombers, and other nuclear equipment in the mid-1990s. The transfer of its last nuclear bomb to Russia completed the process of disarmament in 1996.
The US kept supporting Ukraine throughout the Orange Revolution, which saw widespread protests following the apparent victory of a pro-Russian presidential candidate who was widely accused of fraud. In addition to rhetorical support, the United States contributed at least 13.8 million dollars to assure that the election's subsequent rounds were free and fair.
Following the Euromaidan Revolution, a wave of protests in late 2013 and 2014 that led to the overthrow of then-President Viktor Yanukovych, US involvement in Ukraine escalated drastically.
Days later, conflict erupted when Russia annexed Crimea, a southern Ukrainian province, and began aiding separatist forces in the country's east. Since then, the United States has committed more than 2.7 billion dollars in security aid. The majority of this money has gone toward weaponry, training, and intelligence collaboration in order to assist Ukraine in combating these militias. Between 2014 and 2021, almost 14,000 Ukrainians were murdered.
Since 2014, Ukraine has received approximately 418 million dollars per year from the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development. Although some of this is classified as "non-lethal assistance," it includes goods like body armour, helmets, trucks, heavy engineering equipment, and patrol boats that directly serve US and Ukrainian security goals.?
In addition, since 2014, the United States has provided Ukraine with an annual average of more than 350 million dollars in humanitarian aid. This includes basic assistance materials like blankets and food vouchers, as well as hygiene supplies for health facilities, health care professional training, and structural repairs to homes that have been destroyed by fighting.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, turned to Twitter three days into the conflict to quote a message from the president's office and make a call for foreign nationals to join Ukrainians in fighting the Russian troops.
So far, more than 16,000 foreigners have offered to join the International Legion, the Ukrainian President's freshly proclaimed army branch. According to Reuters, many of them regard it as a "once in a generation battle between democratic and dictatorial forces."
There are 3,000 Americans among them, as well as numerous others from Ukraine's post-communist neighbours. Volunteers from 52 nations have signed up, according to Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba.?
"It's estimated to be around 20,000 people. They are primarily European and North American in origin. There are 500 Belarusian volunteers as well as several Japanese volunteers " Ed Arnold, a research associate for European Security at the Royal United Services Institute in London told DW.
The economist reports, since 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea and assisted separatists in the Donbas region, non-government volunteer battalions, and now the Territorial Defense, have geared up to defend Ukraine. The symbolic importance of a foreign force within the army, according to experts, is obvious: words of solidarity and weapons from other countries are beneficial for soldiers' morale.
Experts say that, while it's too early to say exactly what Ukraine's foreign legion would do or how much the dialect barrier or a lack of local awareness will hold them back, many will carry valuable skills that the armed forces may have lacked otherwise.
Kacper Rekawek of the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX), a postdoctoral fellow told DW, "It's a mixed bag when it comes to their background. Some of those enlisting have no prior military experience. Those who have never served in the military are likely to be assigned logistical jobs such as transferring supplies or soldiers to the front lines."
Ukraine's intelligence agency, the gur, has already established a foreign intelligence cell in Kyiv. However, it is believed, if the influx of recruits continues, the fight could degenerate into a strange form of world war, with Russian and Western troops shooting at each other without any declaration of war from any authority.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, some 180 pro-Ukrainian foreign militants were killed in a Russian strike on Ukrainian training sites, according to Russian media. Ukraine is in desperate need of medical supplies, and Russian missiles have destroyed civilian homes and infrastructure, necessitating humanitarian assistance.
In light of the devastation created by Russia's invasion, humanitarian relief organisations in Ukraine are focusing on getting much-needed supplies to Ukrainians from overseas donors.
The annexation of Ukraine by Russia has resulted in a critical shortage of healthcare supplies. Ukraine, in particular, is experiencing "zeolite shortages," a critical resource in the manufacturing of medical-grade oxygen. Furthermore, polio eradication operations came to a halt as a result of the invasion, with emergency care taking precedence. Furthermore, according to UNAIDS, Ukraine has "less than a month's worth of medications for HIV patients" as of March 1, 2022.
According to reports, 'Doctors Without Borders' has been coordinating shipments of medicine and medical equipment to ease Ukraine's medical shortages since early March 2022, from logistical centres in Bordeaux and Brussels. 'Doctors Without Borders' is also developing warehouses in Western Ukraine to improve the supply capacity for medical assistance.
Project Hope is working throughout Eastern Europe to give critical medical supplies to fleeing Ukrainians in conjunction with government agencies, with a focus on aiding Ukrainian refugees. The project? is working with Moldova's Ministry of Health to supply medical resources to Ukrainian refugees in Moldova, including an Interagency Emergency Health Kit (IEHK) with enough resources to help 10,000 people for three months. One tonne of medicine and health resources, topical therapies, oral medicines, and medical gadgets make up the IEHK.
A Disaster Assistance Response Team comprised of 17 disaster specialists has been deployed by USAID to examine the humanitarian situation and identify critical needs for Ukrainians. USAID has delivered thermal blankets to 23,000 underprivileged Ukrainians through airlift since March 1, 2022, to protect them from the harsh winter climate. Furthermore, USAID intends to provide sanitary supplies to more than 52,000 Ukrainians in order to protect their health.
In addition to humanitarian support, USAID is assisting Ukraine's State Emergency Service with technical assistance. In terms of financial aid, the United States stated on February 27, 2022 that USAID, in collaboration with the US Department of State, will send $54 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine in reaction to the invasion.
Alongside this, the majority of the weapons from a 200 million dollar military assistance package announced in December 2021 have already been sent to Ukraine. President Joe Biden announced an extra 350 million dollar in US armaments on Feb. 26, 2022, in addition to the US-supplied Stinger anti-aircraft weapons and Javelin missile systems that are being delivered to Ukraine with US consent from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. According to reports, the US has redirected Mi-17 helicopters that were initially destined for Afghanistan.
Infrastructure, lives, and livelihoods have all been devastated as a result of the war in Ukraine. Poverty in Ukraine is increasing, and the destruction of important civilian infrastructure and institutions is exacerbating the problem by denying people access to the necessary commodities.
The United Nations and its partners have appealed to the world community for 1.7 billion dollars in aid to help Ukraine's mounting humanitarian needs. A three-month programme has been initiated by the World Food Programme, a United Nations organisation, to provide "in-kind food handouts, multi-purpose cash, and food vouchers" to individuals in Ukraine. To enhance the delivery of emergency services to families, UNICEF is constructing "Blue Dot" zones at border points in countries hosting Ukrainian refugees.
As previously reported, a number of countries are already extending Ukraine military support, including Australia's 70 million dollars and the EU's 500 million dollars in weapons.
Experts believe, given ongoing Russian military activities, it's uncertain whether and how this aid will be delivered. Ukraine's plan, according to military analysts, is based on urban warfare and a long-term war of attrition. While much of the promised military aid supports this strategy, getting weaponry into besieged areas like Kharkiv and Kyiv would be tough.
While the economy is affected, Ukraine's survival also needs that Ukrainians living abroad continue to support their relatives through remittances.
Pouring weapons into a country at war may appear reasonable, but experts fear that this inflow of weapons might trap a country in warfare. According to a new United Nations assessment, the proliferation of small guns and light weapons, such as those being given in Ukraine, can prolong armed conflict, obstruct peacekeeping efforts, and put peacekeepers and local civilians in danger. In other words, the weaponry being provided to assist Ukraine today may make the country more violent in the future.
Light weapons could also be sold by people once the current crisis has passed, according to these experts. Those weapons could end up in other parts of Europe or in the hands of Ukrainian militias. A costly weapons buy-back programme may be necessary to decrease that risk, however the viability of such programmes is widely argued.
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