American military contractors will not fight, but can help repair and maintain Western weapons systems.
The Biden administration may lift a de facto ban on sending American military contractors to Ukraine to help repair and maintain US-provided systems weapons.
Four US officials told CNN about this.
The decision would mark another significant shift in the Biden administration's policy towards Ukraine. It is still being worked on by US presidential officials and has not yet received final approval from Biden.
“We have not made any decisions, and any discussion of this issue is premature. The President (Joe Biden) is absolutely adamant that he will not send US troops to Ukraine,” the White House responded.
If approved by President Biden, the change would likely go into effect as early as this year and would allow the Pentagon to contract with American companies to work in Ukraine for the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Sources hope that this will speed up the maintenance and repair of weapons systems that are in service with the Ukrainian military.
Over the past two years, Biden has categorically prohibited direct participation of the US military in the war against Russia.
As a result, military equipment provided by the United States, which suffered significant damage during the fighting, had to be taken out for repairs to Poland, Romania or other NATO countries, and this takes time. There is an agreement that allows the US military to help Ukrainians with maintenance of equipment and weapons, but only through video calls or a wiretap-proof phone. At the same time, American military contractors cannot yet work directly with weapons and equipment in Ukraine.
Allowing experienced US government-funded US contractors to have a presence in Ukraine means they can help repair damaged precious equipment much faster, officials said. One advanced system that will likely require regular maintenance is the F-16 fighter.
According to the publication's sources, the policy change will not lead to the overwhelming presence of American contractors that existed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This will lead to the fact that from several dozen to several hundred contractors will be working in Ukraine at the same time.
“This would be a much more focused and thoughtful effort to support Ukraine,” said retired Army officer Alex Vindman, who served as director of European affairs on former President Donald Trump's National Security Council.
Earlier, the Pentagon made a statement after accusing the Russian Federation of attacking Sevastopol.
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