Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Evelyn Farkas said in an exclusive interview to the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America.
According to Evelyn Farkas, the United States have worked with the European countries in the field of security over the past 20 years to ensure stability and prosperity in the region, therefore the Pentagon is very much concerned about Russia's actions in Ukraine.
She said that Russia has violated the international law so the Pentagon is currently making efforts within the Minsk deal to return Russia to the path of its implementation. The major part of the DoD's strategy is granting support to Ukraine. The Department of Defense has already allocated nearly $200 million for Ukraine's security needs, which were steered to the Armed Forces and Border Service of Ukraine. The military uniforms, armored vehicles, counter-mortar radars, medical supplies, and trainings were meant. She added, that Department of Defense keeps providing assistance because it undertook this commitment.
According to Farkas, the Department of Defense is constantly staying in touch with Ukraine's military and political leadership through the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, so there is always understanding of Ukraine's priorities and needs, while the White House is constantly estimating what kind of assistance it can provide. Evelyn Farkas stated that the minister of defense was personally involved in the process and assured that all options to provide weapons to Ukraine were being considered.
She added that the Russians were present in the Eastern Ukraine, and that they operated together with the militants, that their military equipment and manpower were present there, that Russian servicemen were training their proxies and share their communications equipment with them. According to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, such activities raise concerns of the countries neighboring with Ukraine. They are concerned about Russia's intentions towards them. In NATO context, the United States assures its allies that the Article 5 is in effect and such position has been announced.
The Pentagon is very much concerned about Moscow's concealment. According to Evelyn Farkas, the Russian Federation acts covert while the United States and NATO discuss its actions with Russia. Thus, when the Kremlin holds military exercises the White House has no clue whether they are preceding the acts of aggression, as it was in the case with Crimea, or it is conventional military maneuvers.
FM-TV
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