The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) welcomes the accurate assessment of the Russian hybrid warfare by the United States and the approval by the Administration of the U.S. President of the sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine to help it withstand persistent and blatant Russian aggression.
On 12 December 2017, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in his speech “Meeting the Foreign Policy Challenges of 2017 and Beyond” before the participants of the Atlantic Council-Korea Foundation Forum in Washington, DC, stated the following:
But when you invade another country and take their territory, we cannot – that cannot be left to stand. And that is the basis for the very stringent sanctions regime that the U.S. and Europe imposed on Russia as a result of that invasion, and that regime will not change until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is resolved and Ukraine’s territorial integrity is returned […]. We know we’re going to have to continue to deal with Russia’s hybrid warfare. We felt it in our elections and we now have reports from many European countries that they’re seeing the same effects.
The new National Security Strategy of the United States of America presented on 18 December 2017 by U.S. President Donald Trump provides that:
- Russia seeks to restore its great power status and establish spheres of influence near its borders.
- Through modernized forms of subversive tactics, Russia interferes in the domestic political affairs of countries around the world. The combination of Russian ambition and growing military capabilities creates an unstable frontier in Eurasia, where the risk of conflict due to Russian miscalculation is growing.
- With its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia demonstrated its willingness to violate the sovereignty of states in the region. Russia continues to intimidate its neighbors with threatening behavior, such as nuclear posturing and the forward deployment of offensive capabilities.
- Russia uses information operations as part of its offensive cyber efforts to influence public opinion across the globe. Its influence campaigns blend covert intelligence operations and false online personas with state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or “trolls.”
On 19 December 2017, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Ambassador Kurt Volker noted that “2017 has been the most violent year of the conflict since it began”, and that “peace in Ukraine can come about only if Russia pulls its forces and leadership from the region.”
On 20 December 2017, the Administration of the U.S. President approved the sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine.
On 23 December 2017, a senior U.S. State Department official told CNN that the United States will “provide lethal anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to help it fight off separatists which have the backing of Russia.”
“The Ukrainian World Congress welcomes the commendable position adopted by the United States and its concrete steps to assist Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity, thereby ensuring peace and stability in Europe,” said UWC President Eugene Czolij.
