Former CIA director Petraeus calls for more US military aid to Ukraine
Former CIA chief General David Petraeus (Photo:REUTERS/Chris Keane)
Kyiv’s Western partners, particularly the
United States, should increase their security assistance to help Ukraine with
its ongoing counteroffensive, former CIA Director and retired U.S. general
David Petraeus said at an event hosted by the Kyiv Security Forum on Sept. 5.
He lauded the U.S. leadership in providing military aid to Ukraine and emphasized that the White House, Congress, and the American people have given "unprecedented support in all the time since WWII."
Nevertheless, Petraeus noted that decisions regarding supplying some key arms to Ukraine's defenders could have been made more quickly.
“I would very much have liked some decisions that could have served to benefit Ukraine to have been made, some of which may have acted as a catalyst,” said Petraeus.
“In particular, I would have liked decisions on Abrams tanks to have been made at least six months earlier. Similarly, decisions on the F-16 [fighter jets] should be expedited. We are past a certain stage where there was a certain apprehension, now everything possible needs to be done.”
The retired general expressed hope that Ukraine's support from Western partners would grow, and urged that “everything possible should be done to ensure that Ukraine is as well prepared for the next offensive period.”
The Kyiv Security Forum, founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation, is a major Ukrainian platform for public discussions on issues of war and peace, national and global security.
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