US plans to train 'Ukrainian rebels' to fight Russia

Ukrainian soldiers use a US Javelin missile launcher during military exercises in the Donetsk region. Photo: AP

The US could arm and train Ukrainian fighters in Europe, according to the NY Times. The NY Times said that US President Joe Biden has not yet decided what his government would do in case Moscow invades the former Soviet republic. However, the newspaper asserted that US officials have drawn up possible responses in case of an attack.

According to the paper, Washington apparently believes that Ukraine has no chance of resisting Russia's military might in an open battle and is instead focusing on supporting Ukraine's "guerrilla" war on territory that could be occupied by Moscow.

“If Putin invades Ukraine with significant military force, the U.S. and NATO military support — intelligence, cyber, anti-armor and air defense, naval strike missiles — will increase dramatically,” former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis said in a statement to the NY Times. “And if it turns into a Ukrainian insurgency, President Putin should realize that, having fought insurgencies for two decades, we know how to arm, train, and energize these insurgencies.”

The former admiral clearly drew on America’s experience in Afghanistan, where Washington first backed Muslim guerrillas fighting the Soviet army in the late 1970s and 1980s, then fought the Taliban for about two decades before leaving the South Asian country in relative haste last year.

According to Mr. Stavridis, the US “military support” for Ukraine “would make our efforts in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union look bad by comparison.” According to the New York Times, the plan would involve training rebel forces in neighboring NATO countries such as Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as providing them with weapons, logistical support, medical equipment and shelters during Russian counterattacks against the guerrillas.

Several unnamed senior White House officials also “made clear” in talks with US allies that the Ukrainians could also count on public support from the Pentagon and covert assistance from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

So far, the US has said it is only providing Ukraine with “defensive” weapons, including anti-tank missiles, radars, communications equipment and patrol boats, to avoid provoking Russia. The NY Times also reported that if Moscow decides to invade, the US will also provide offensive weapons and related training to Kiev./.