Ukrainian law enforcers in the ATO zone are retreating from attack and waiting for assistance from NATO

Ukraine must reinforce defense in the east and diplomacy in the west

Photo: Reuters

The president and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine plan to once again review the issue of declaring a martial law in the country based on the results of the NATO summit, which will be held tomorrow. At the meeting, Ukraine hopes to agree on the support of NATO, although the alliance does not have a unified position on this issue. Moreover, members of NATO voiced their opinion that Kyiv lost in the military operation.

No substitutes for Heletei

As Capital learned, President Petro Poroshenko and heads of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada discussed the possible dismissal of Minister of Defense Valeriy Heletei and declaring a martial law in Ukraine at an extended meeting of the General Staff.

The minister’s statement that the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas has turned into a full-scale war with Russia was the reason for holding the emergency meeting on Monday evening. As a source at the General Staff told Capital, VR Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov and Premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk insisted on the dismissal of the minister of defense. «President Poroshenko announced his readiness to dismiss Heletei if he is proposed a substitute. But Premier Yatsenyuk admitted that currently there are no candidates that have the required experience to head the ministry,» a source of Capital said.

After the reports of the heads of the military subdivisions on the level of readiness to counteract the direct armed aggression of Russia were presented, a decision was made to concentrate the maximum amount of defense forces on controlled territories, said the source.

«The issue of declaring martial law was postponed until the NATO summit, after which it will become clear what assistance Ukraine can count on,» the source stated.

At the NATO summit that will be held in Wales tomorrow, Ukraine is hoping to receive concrete assistance from the bloc, not political statements of intentions. Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin said during his meeting with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Torbjorn Jagland that the key issue at the summit will be the reinforcement, mutual collaboration of armed forces and military technical assistance.

However, the NATO itself views the prospects of Ukraine in the military conflict in the east pessimistically. The authoritative German publication Spiegel with a reference to its sources in the high command of NATO wrote that the situation on the Ukrainian —Russian border has worsened. Official Kyiv at the moment can only hope on withdrawal of the army of the aggressor seeing as the military operation failed.

Analyst of the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Volodymyr Horbach noted that in the higher echelons of NATO there is disagreement regarding the further plans on guaranteeing security in Eastern Europe. Poland and Baltic countries are insisting on increasing military presence on their territories, but so far Central Europe is taking a neutral position.

Horbach believes that Ukraine can after all count on assistance in terms of arms, military hardware and technical equipment. But should NATO refuse to take such a decision, reaching an agreement with member countries of the bloc will be the only solution. «If the summit ends with political statements, this will be a defeat for Ukrainian diplomacy and the alliance in the counteraction to Russia. We need to orient ourselves first and foremost on the U.S., which is ready to grant Ukraine the status of a strategic partner,» Horbach told Capital.

ATO has turned into an obstacle

Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration Issues Hryhoriy Nemyrya (Batkivshchyna) told Capital that the status of the U.S. as a partner will allow for maximum mobilization of possibilities to guarantee security as it provides defense to its allies. At the same time, he said the chances of receiving military technical assistance from NATO are slim to none as legally Ukraine is continuing the ATO.

«If the country puts up the issue in this way, the shipment of certain weapons, particularly non-lethal arms, is limited. We do not have a concrete position on this issue. I believe that this sends a clear signal to the alliance,» Nemyrya told Capital.

Ex-head of the General Staff Anatoliy Lopata does not doubt that the U.S. will render assistance to the Ukrainian army in the acquisition of military hardware that it is short of. He says the Armed Forces of Ukraine has huge potential in terms of defense, but this requires creating the corresponding conditions to ensure the successful activity of the military forces. The priority is to declare a martial law in the country and attract technical assistance.

Noteworthy is that the yesterday Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services Carl Levin, who at the end of July proposed rendering Ukraine military assistance in the form of lethal weapons for defense purposes, paid an official visit to Kyiv. As U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt wrote on his Twitter page, Senator Carl Levin flew on a C-17 military transport plane, which performs strategic air transport of cargo and military personnel.