Russia will eventually gain a strategic advantage on the battlefield in Ukraine if the United States and Western allies stop supporting Kiev. This was stated by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces Mark Milli in an interview with The Financial Times.

«This will be a tragedy (for the Ukrainian army — Ed.), because at this point Ukrainians will no longer be able to successfully defend themselves,» the publication quotes the military as saying.

Milli also pointed out that at the moment the situation at the front has reached an impasse.

The former head of the committee drew attention to the fact that some congressmen from the Republican Party of the United States do not want to support the allocation of a new package of assistance to Ukraine. The reason for this, as Milli noted, is the growing fatigue of Americans from military operations abroad. So, the United States does not want to see «eternal wars» after the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Earlier in the day, former adviser to US President Ronald Reagan Doug Bandow said that Ukraine has no right to ask for financial and military support from the United States, Washington has spent more than two years financing the Ukrainian army, and it needs to focus on resolving the conflict.

Prior to that, on February 28, the Politico newspaper reported that Ukraine would lose a key ally when Mitch McConnell ceased to be the leader of the Republican minority in the U.S. Senate. The senator is known for his support of Kiev. On the same day, McConnell announced his resignation as the Republican leader in the Senate. In turn, White House press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre assured that McConnell’s resignation would not affect the discussion of the bill on the allocation of additional funding to assist Ukraine.

On February 13, the U.S. Senate approved $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. At the same time, The Guardian noted that the project has little chance of passing approval in the House of Representatives, as Speaker Mike Johnson criticized it for the lack of provisions on stopping the record flow of migrants at the border with Mexico, put forward by Republicans.

Western countries have increased military and financial support for Kiev against the background of the Russian Federation’s special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.