Pentagon Wants to Send Troops to Ukraine for ‘Counterterrorism’ Training

No Decision Yet on Sending 'Lethal Aid'

The Pentagon today announced its intention, pending Congressional approval, to send troops to Ukraine for “training exercises” designed to increase the Ukrainian military’s “capacity for internal defense” as it fights eastern rebels.

The plan seeks to use a contingency fund for “counterterrorism” to train the Ukrainian military, which conveniently dubbed their crackdown on eastern secessionists an “anti-terror” operation.

Pentagon officials say they are still not planning to send “lethal aid” to the Ukrainian military, something Congressional hawks are increasingly pushing for as they envision bankrolling a broad Russo-Ukrainian War.

Fighting has continued to escalate in the east as the military moves to wipe out the last pockets of rebel resistance, using ballistic missiles and airstrikes against the few cities the rebels still hold and sparking a growing civilian exodus to neighboring Russia.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.