February 5, 2015

What is to be done?

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In December 2014, the Ukrainian American community pulled off what was described as a “minor miracle” on Capitol Hill – through the community’s advocacy efforts, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act (USFA) of 2014 was voted into law and signed by President Barack Obama. The main portion of this law authorizes the president of the United States to provide lethal defensive military aid to Ukraine. Our community achieved this through a united effort that included thousands of phone calls, e-mails and letters, as well as face-to-face meetings with our lawmakers. The Ukrainian American community deserves high praise for this.

In addition to the community pulling together and focusing on defending Ukraine, there was significant support from Ukraine and its friends in the Senate and the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus in the House of Representatives. Ukrainian parliamentarians and military experts were in Washington on an almost constant basis from September through December, meeting with senators, congressmen and their staff to explain Ukraine’s military needs. The combined work of the community, our friends in Congress and the Rada delegations created enough momentum in Washington to get the legislation passed and signed into law.

The effort to pass the USFA was coordinated by the Ad Hoc Committee for Ukraine (AHCU), which was formed in October 2104 by members of a broad section of Ukrainian American community organizations and several American NGOs. Its purpose was making sure the UFSA was passed into law and that it does not become just a symbolic gesture. While the UFSA has become law, it remains to us to make sure it is faithfully implemented.

On that point, we, as a community, have to ask: Since the UFSA was signed into law, what has Ukraine received in the form of military aid? Unfortunately, the answer is: very little. As of the writing of this article, Ukraine has received a few more anti-mortar radars and the U.S. issued export licenses for 50-caliber sniper rifles that Ukraine had purchased – with its own money – from a U.S. manufacturer.

At the same time, Russian proxies in the Donbas have significantly escalated their violence with the targeting of civilians. The Russian Federation has increased its direct involvement in the conflict; according to Ukrainian intelligence there are more than 9,000 Russian regular troops in Ukraine, in addition to a significant amount of armor, artillery and other military equipment that has crossed the border into Ukraine from Russia.

Ukrainian and American military experts have warned that Russia is planning a spring offensive with the goal of establishing a land corridor to Crimea and the capture of Kharkiv – an offensive that, according to Ukrainian military experts, has received the codename “Operatsiya Podkova,” or “Operation Horseshoe.” There also have been confirmed reports that the Russians have activated their air defenses, which would only be done if they are planning to launch this operation in a short period of time. Based on these facts and the draft cycle of the Russian army, estimates of the invasion window are from the end of February through the beginning of April. To put it succinctly, Ukraine is facing an imminent existential threat.

The weapons and weapons systems that are authorized to be transferred to Ukraine by the UFSA can act as a deterrent to continued Russian aggression. For example, the Anti-Battery Fire-Finder Radar (AN/TPQ-37), with a range of 50-plus kilometers, is a countermeasure to the Russian Grad artillery rockets that were recently used to inflict civilian casualties in Mariupol. The request for these systems was made by President Petro Poroshenko directly to President Obama back in September 2014. To date, however, the U.S. has transferred 20 Fire-Finder Anti-Mortar Radars with a range of 10 kilometers. So far, none of the more advanced anti-battery radar systems have arrived. These radar systems are considered non-lethal aid.

The Ukrainian government has submitted a prioritized list of defensive weapons to the U.S. government. All these weapons can be transferred to Ukraine in short order – if the U.S. government has the political will to do it.

The best way to make sure Ukraine receives substantial help is to put pressure on the U.S. administration and to work through our legislators. We as a community need to remain mobilized and focused on making sure our president acts on the authority given to him by Congress through the UFSA. Implementation of this law needs to be the priority of our community.

To that end, our Ukrainian American constituents must, during the Congressional break on February 18-20, visit their legislators’ home offices and do the following:

1. Ask their senators to form and join a Senate Task Force on Ukraine, thereby forming a “Ukraine Team” in the Senate that can use its “advise and consent” authority to encourage the executive branch to promptly implement the UFSA.

2. Ask their senators and representatives to submit inquiries to the executive branch asking what has been done to date to transfer defensive lethal aid to Ukraine in accordance with the UFSA.

3. Ask that these inquiries be coordinated with the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus in the House. The co-chairs of this Caucus are Reps. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Sander Levin (Mich.), and Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.).

4. Our prominent Ukrainian Americans who are activists in the Democratic Party need to be asking to meet with the National Security Council and present the reasoning for sending lethal aid to Ukraine.

The implementation of the UFSA needs to be our immediate priority. The AHCU will be sending out more information on Ukraine’s military needs and which specific legislators need to be contacted through the members of the AHCU who represent all of our community organizations.

Ukraine is bleeding, soldiers and civilians are dying every day. We as a united community need to be the spearhead of the effort to defend Ukraine against Russia’s aggression.

 

Mykola Hryckowian is the director of the Washington office of the Center for U..S-Ukrainian Relations, which has organized over 60 conferences in the U.S., Europe and Ukraine on matters of U.S.-Ukraine relations, European Union-Ukraine relations, national security, energy security and economic development. Since October 2014, he has served as the chair of the Ad Hoc Committee for Ukraine.

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