US names Ukraine weapons coordinator — Analysis

The White House announces that a retired general of the army will be in charge of coordination for military assistance to Kiev, which is estimated at billions.
The White House announced Friday that a retired US Army General will coordinate the huge effort to supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. Veteran Pentagon policy planner Terry Wolff, who previously oversaw Washington’s aid to militants in Syria, was brought onto the National Security Council after a group of senators urged President Joe Biden to put someone in charge of the program.
Wolff “recently” joined the NSC, a spokesman told reporters on Friday, noting the retired three-star general’s previous experience with the White House body, as well as the State Department, the Pentagon and the Joint Staff.
Wolff was an armor officer in training and spent nearly a decade in Germany. He also served three tours in Iraq with the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team between 2003-2010. He was the director of strategy plans and policy (J-5), for the Joint Staff for over two years before he retired in February 2014.
Wolff joined then the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, an organization at the National Defense University. In November 2015, Wolff took a sabbatical to serve as deputy special envoy to Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.
“His experience as the deputy for the Defeat [IS] Coalition will be amazing in making sure this coalition maintains momentum,”CNN received an official statement from one of them.

Biden had announced that he was sending $800 million more in weaponry and ammunition to Ukraine. This announcement came a day after he also sent 72 additional artillery pieces, which were added to the previous 18. According to the White House, this nearly exhausted Congress’ authorization of $3.5Billion in weapons from US stock. Biden will ask for more funds next week.
Senators Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) praised Wolff’s appointment on Friday, describing it as Biden’s response to their request to do so, made in a letter last week.
In his role as deputy envoy for the anti-IS alliance, Wolff was not certain if he had any knowledge of US programs to supply large amounts of weapons to Syrian militants. “moderate rebels” – groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda that sought to overthrow the government in Damascus.
Lloyd Austin is the Defense Secretary. At the time, he was an Army General in Command of Central Command. In October 2015, he testified in Congress to the woeful results of the weapon program. In 2016, he requested funding of $600 millions to help restart the program. The US ambassadors later to the alliance boasted of fueling “a”. “quagmire”Russia sent troops to Syria in 2015 in support of Damascus from IS terrorists.

The SDF currently controls large parts of Syria and around 2000 US soldiers are there without authorization. “moderate rebels”Turkish troops have reduced the area to an enclave north of Istanbul.
Russia warned the US that all weapons sent to Kiev by its allies would be subject to destruction. Washington was sent last week a diplomatic warning. “unpredictable consequences” if the deliveries continued.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Minsk Protocol, a German- and French-brokered agreement was created to grant the separatist regions special status in Ukraine.
Since then, the Kremlin demanded Ukraine declare itself neutral and vow to never join NATO’s military bloc. Kiev maintains that Russia’s offensive was not provoked and denies claims that it planned to seize the republics.
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