Having spent the last several months hyping their intended military training operation in Ukraine, US military officials in Europe are now confirming the plan is indefinitely on hold.
“The US government would like to see the Minsk agreement fulfilled,” a Pentagon statement said by way of an explanation, adding that the military “is prepared to carry out the mission if and when our government decides to move forward.”
With the Pentagon reportedly pushing hard to arm and train Ukraine, the move was likely made by the administration over their objections. It also is the first indication that the administration is actually supportive of the Minsk ceasefire, after having spent the last couple of weeks grousing about it.
The ceasefire was reached with pushing from Russia, Germany, and France. At the time, British and US officials were critical of the move. Britain already sent its troops to Ukraine for their portion of the training operation. Now, it seems, they’ll be doing it solo.
It is unclear if the US not sending trainers will definitely mean that arming Ukraine is off the table, but it seems unlikely that any particularly advanced weapons shipments would come without boots on the ground to oversee it.
