CIA chief, U.S. Senators meet Zelensky in Kyiv as U.K. missiles arrive

CIA Director Bill Burns visited Kyiv last week and
spoke with his intelligence counterparts and President Zelensky, CNN reported
on Jan. 17. The details of Burns’ visit are unknown other than that the trip
had been previously scheduled and that discussion of current assessments of the
security situation occurred.

Also, a bi-partisan group of seven U.S. senators met
with Zelensky on Jan. 17. CNN reported that Senator Chris Murphy told
journalists by phone that “Ukraine wants increased support from the U.S., but
that the country is “battle-tested” and “ready.”” Furthermore,
Senator Amy Klobuchar stated that, “If Putin thinks that he’s going to
walk into Central or Western Ukraine without a significant fight then he has
fundamentally misread the Ukrainian people and their readiness.”

Meanwhile, the U.K. sent two C-17 cargo aircraft loads
of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine on Jan. 17. The missiles are lighter than the
U.S. built Javelin, according to an article in the Guardian on Jan. 17.

James Hydzik: The understanding of U.S. senators and the Johnson government are
vital. However, they’re focused on the ground war, and recently, statements
from Russia have alluded to a Syria-style air campaign. Ground-to-air missiles
for Ukraine are already under discussion, as have anti-drone systems, but
nothing definite about their placement has been stated in public. Given the
broadening of the scope of the military assault, sooner or later, discussions
of anti-missile systems such as the Patriot or Iron Dome will occur.