U.S. military and diplomats concerned about Ukraine security

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on March 31. According to a
state.gov announcement, the two covered Russian aggression, rule of law and COVID-19
issues. However, voanews.com states that Blinken “affirmed Washington’s support
for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.” He expressed concern” regarding the security
situation and condolences over the recent deaths of four Ukrainian servicemen.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley
also spoke with Ukrainian Chief of the General Staff Ruslan Khomchak on March
31. According to the Joint Chiefs’ jcs.mil reports, the two discussed the
current security environment in Eastern Europe. Media outlet thehill.com
reports that Milley also spoke with Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery
Gerasimov, and the two covered “issues of mutual concern”, including the
Americans’ view on Russian escalations in eastern Ukraine ranging from the rise
in attacks and deaths to Ukrainian reports of Russian troop movements.

James Hydzik: We reported earlier this week that
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Head of the Presidential
Administration Andriy Yermak touched upon the security situation in their March
29 phone call. These calls, however, are focused on it. Russia may feel the
need to test Biden’s resolve, and this would have happened whether Biden had
called Putin a murderer or not. The Trump administration was repeatedly tested
in Syria. The Obama administration was tested on several fronts, and Sullivan
admitted in an interview that the U.S., as far as he knows, still had not come
up with a solution to the “little green men” phenomenon and Putin’s subsequent
denials.

When Biden’s turn to be tested comes, if it is in
Ukraine, then subterfuge will be difficult.