By President Joe Biden recently promised an additional $725 million of military aid before leaving office in January while Trump promised a swift end to the war in the presidential debate.
His promise was made before North Korea sent soldiers to Russia, and Biden approved Ukraine’s use of the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System, which are long-range ballistic missiles that can attack within Russian territory.
Both developments have become hurdles in negotiating peace but President-elect Trump has not publicly altered his position.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Military Affairs report shows that $61.4 billion in military assistance has been provided to Ukraine since Russia initiated its invasion in February 2022.
CSULB history professor and expert on Russian and Ukrainian history, Andrew Jenks, explained his understanding of the conflict and U.S. involvement.
Jenks said he believes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization conceding Ukrainian lands to Russia will result in a situation like current day Syria, or U.S. controlled Afghanistan.
“This will mean that NATO countries — the United States and European countries — are at war with Russia,” Jenks said. “The problem with this war has always been, when do we cross that line to trigger an all-out confrontation with Russia?”
Russian leadership feels that recent NATO escalations makes them direct participants in the conflict.
The Associated Press reported that Russia said U.S. long range missiles being utilized would change “the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” according to Putin.
With recent escalations in U.S. support for Ukraine, and Putin’s recent revision of Russia’s nuclear doctrine, nuclear war is rapidly becoming a realistic tactical threat.
The new doctrine, signed by Putin on Nov. 19, defines aggression from a non-nuclear state like Ukraine with support from a nuclear state like the United States a “joint attack.”
Further, it stated that the Russian Federation reserves the right to employ nuclear weapons in response to aggression against the Russian Federation or its allies.
The doctrine, signed in response to the Biden administration approving Ukraine’s use of U.S. ATACMS, is a threat of tactical nuclear response to continued NATO interference.
Jenks said that NATO needs to continue its involvement, fearing Russia will not stop with Ukraine.
He said Russia is likely to continue aggressively reclaiming what was previously Soviet Union territory under the guise of defending the Russian Federation from a perceived NATO threat.
“It can’t go much further without direct confrontation,” Jenks said.
