The U.S. is considering sending additional military advisers to the embassy in Kyiv, the latest show of American commitment to Ukraine as Russia appears to be gaining momentum in the two-year conflict.
The advisers would not be in a combat role, but rather would advise and support the Ukrainian government and military, according to Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
“Throughout this conflict, the DOD has reviewed and adjusted our presence in-country, as security conditions have evolved. Currently, we are considering sending several additional advisers to augment the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) at the Embassy,” Ryder said in a statement to POLITICO, noting that “personnel are subject to the same travel restrictions as all embassy employees.
The ODC “performs a variety of advisory and support missions (non-combat), and while it is staffed exclusively by DOD personnel, it is embedded within the U.S. Embassy, under Chief of Mission authority like the rest of the Embassy,” Ryder added.Ryder declined to discuss specific numbers of personnel “for operational security and force protection reasons.”
The additional troops will support logistics and oversight efforts for the weapons the U.S. is sending Ukraine, according to four U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plans, who were granted anonymity to speak about a sensitive topic.The new contingent will also help the Ukrainian military with weapons maintenance, according to one of the U.S. officials and the person familiar.A handful of U.S. troops have already deployed for short rotations attached to the embassy in Kyiv, two of the U.S. officials said, with the second official describing the numbers as “onesies and twosies.”
Those personnel are helping with oversight and embassy security.It was not clear how many additional U.S. troops would ultimately be sent to Ukraine, but two of the U.S. officials said the number would be up to 60.
At this point, the Ukrainians can probably teach the US military about modern warfare. Not the other way around.
@9LQBDK32wks2W
Americans have done a lot of bad and Ukrainians can help them so the don't make even more mistakes
@Poultry2004Green2wks2W
Who’s old enough to remember Vietnam?
Ah same type of advisers sent to Honduras that were taking out people!!!
They are all going to come back multimillionaires
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
Would you support your country sending military advisers to a conflict zone abroad if it believed it could help the situation without involving combat?
@9LQC24N2wks2W
The Ukraine war is just another endless war that we/they cannot win. Russia has more men and resources, they can keep fighting this war for many years. Both parties want to maintain this war, to line the pockets of their lobbyist buddies in the Military Industrial Complex.
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
How does the idea of the US sending military support, even non-combat, to another country affect your view of international relations and peacekeeping?
@9LQBBVC2wks2W
It is not peacekeeping but more of making things worse with more casualties. The U.S is foolish to send the amount of support they have sent.
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
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