On February 28, Russia entered its fifth day of launching a special military operation against Ukraine. In response, Western countries imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia while providing military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. But deploying troops in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, is a "red line" that the United States and its Western allies are reluctant to cross.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview with CNN on the 27th that the Biden administration "has made it clear" that the United States will not deploy combat troops to Ukraine. "We're not going to put U.S. troops at risk," she said. ”
But what other factors have prevented the United States from sending troops to Ukraine?
The United States is embroiled in a conflict or sparking a global war
Although the United States has condemned Russia's military actions in various forms, US President Joe Biden has tried to send a clear message to the outside world: U.S. troops will not enter Ukraine for direct contact with Russian forces. As Biden told U.S. media earlier this month, "When the U.S. and Russia start firing at each other, it's going to be a world war." In other words, U.S. military involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict could spark a global war.
CNN national security and military analyst and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark M. Mark Hertling said: "The key to diplomacy is to limit the possibility of war. While the current russian invasion of Ukraine is tragic, chaotic, and destructive, it remains a regional conflict. ”
"If NATO or the United States send troops into Ukraine to help them fight the Russians, given the nuclear forces of the United States and Russia, the situation will turn into a multinational conflict that could affect the whole world." As a result, the United States, NATO, and other countries are trying to contribute to Ukraine's success and Russia's failure by providing other forms of support. Hettling said.
The mission of the military in Europe and the United States is to defend NATO
Before and after the russian military operation began, the United States deployed thousands of troops to all of Europe. According to US media reports on the 27th, as a measure to ensure the security of eastern European Union countries under the current crisis, more than 4,000 US troops temporarily sent to Europe will extend their mission period for several weeks.
But the mission of these U.S. troops is not to fight Russia. Biden said at the White House on the 24th that the US military "will not and will not clash with Russia in Ukraine now", and their task is only to protect the security of the US NATO allies, especially the Eastern European Union countries.
Biden said: "I have made it very clear that the United States is doing everything in its power to defend every inch of NATO territory. "But Ukraine is not a member of NATO.
Under what circumstances will the United States go directly to war with Russia?
Ukraine borders NATO members such as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. If Russia threatens any of these NATO members, other NATO members, including the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, will respond under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Article 5 of the Convention provides that once it is confirmed that a Member State has been attacked, other Member States will react immediately. This provision is understood to mean that the forces of various countries will automatically enter the war and that the authorization of governments to participate in the war, namely the right to collective self-defence, is no longer required. Nato's first and only call to Article 5 of the Convention was after the Terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, when NATO allies joined the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
Image courtesy of BBC Chinese
How can the United States help Ukraine?
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on the 26th that he has authorized the United States to provide $350 million in new military assistance to Ukraine.
Blinken said in a statement on the same day that under President Biden's instructions, he authorized the U.S. Department of Defense to provide $350 million worth of "lethal defensive weapons" aid to Ukraine. This is a further move taken by the United States after two additional batches of military assistance worth $60 million and $200 million to the Ukrainian side in 2021. Since last year, the total price of U.S. military aid to Ukraine has exceeded $1 billion.
In addition, Blinken announced on the 27th that the United States will provide nearly $54 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to help those affected by the Russian "invasion".
How does the United States respond to Russia?
In a word, sanctions.
The United States and other Western countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia, targeting its banking, aerospace and technology industries, including asset freezes by large banks; debt and equity restrictions on key mining, transportation and logistics companies; and large-scale actions to prevent Russia's military and industrial sectors from acquiring critical technologies.
On the 25th, the United States, together with the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada, announced that they would directly impose sanctions on Russian President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov.
On the 26th, the United States and the European Commission, as well as France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada, announced that they would expel certain Russian banks from SWIFT, a highly secure network connecting thousands of financial institutions around the world. Parse | Why is the SWIFT ban a "nuclear option" for economic sanctions against Russia?
CNN commentator Hettling said: "Sanctions, blockades, economic repercussions, building a coalition against Putin's actions, while providing arms and other aid to Ukraine, [the above initiatives] are expected to prevent the escalation of the situation and unintended consequences." ”
The attitude of US public opinion towards the US intervention in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
According to polls conducted on the eve of Russia's military operations, the American public is wary of U.S. interference in Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
In a poll conducted by The Associated Press and THE NORC, only 26 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should play an important role in the situation between Russia and Ukraine; about half (52 percent) say the U.S. should play a minor role; and another 20 percent believe the U.S. should play no role at all.
(Editor: Zhou Zhou)