William Burns, director of the CIA, warns of the risks of a potential Ukrainian defeat if the United States does not intensify its military aid. The warning comes two days before the vote, scheduled for Saturday, in the American House of Representatives on a package of 61 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine, mainly military, after months of political deadlock.
With new military aid, “Ukrainians are able to hold on”
Faced with Western aid that is running out of steam, Ukraine is faced with a growing lack of resources and is urging its partners to deliver more weapons and air defense systems.
“With the momentum, both practical and psychological, that military aid would provide, I think the Ukrainians are fully capable of holding on in 2024,” William Burns said in a speech at the George W. Bush Center .
“Without additional help, the situation is much more dire,” he said. “The risk is very real that the Ukrainians will lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024, or at least that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will be in a position to dictate the terms of a political settlement,” he said. he added, without detailing what he meant by “losing” the war.
To illustrate the Ukrainian army's lack of ammunition, he also claimed that two brigades, units of more than 2,000 soldiers, had only "15 artillery shells per day" and a total of "42 mortar shells.