Military contractor presence in Ukraine ¿Change in the war?
Military contractor presence in Ukraine could get the green light amid a campaign by Joe Biden to enable that path.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is moving to lift the de facto ban on military contractors in Ukraine from deploying to Ukraine.
This was stated to CNN by four U.S. officials familiar with the matter, to help the Ukrainian military maintain and repair U.S.-supplied weapons systems.
The presence of military contractors in Ukraine would mark another significant shift in Biden’s Ukraine policy, as the U.S. seeks ways to give Ukraine’s military an advantage over Russia.
The proposed law to allow military contractors in Ukraine is still being drafted by government officials and has not yet received the final go-ahead from President Joe Biden, official sources said.
Once approved, the change would likely be enacted this year, the officials said, and would allow the Pentagon to provide contracts to U.S. companies to work inside Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded in 2022.
Military contractor presence in Ukraine ¿Change in the war?
Officials said they expect him to speed up maintenance and repairs to weapons systems used by the Ukrainian military.
For the past two years, Biden has insisted that all Americans, and in particular U.S. troops, stay away from Ukrainian fronts.
READ MORE: FLORIDA’S HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION LAW
If passed, the presence of military contractors in Ukraine could increase belligerent power in the war.
U.S. troops are also available to assist Ukrainians in more routine logistical and maintenance tasks, but only remotely via video chat or secure telephone, an arrangement that carries inherent limitations, as U.S. troops and contractors cannot work directly on the systems.
Companies bidding for the contracts will be required to develop robust risk mitigation plans to alleviate threats to their employees, an official said.
The talks follow a series of decisions made by the United States in recent months to try to help Ukraine defeat the Russians.
In late May, Biden gave Ukraine permission to attack targets inside Russia near the border with the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with U.S. weapons, a request the U.S. had repeatedly denied in the past.
