Russia – Ukraine War | US plans to send military contractors to Ukraine; What does this mean? | Joe Biden | Volodymyr Zelensky Vladimir Putin | USA | the world

According to the News Network CNNAdministration Biden Progress is being made in removing the de facto ban on the use of U.S. military contractors Ukraine.

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Officials familiar with the matter told CNN that once the rule is approved, The Pentagon can award US companies contracts to work inside Ukraine For the first time Russia invaded the country in February 2022. Officials insisted that was the intention Acceleration of maintenance and repair of weapon systems used by the Ukrainian army.

“We have not made any decision, any discussion about it is premature… The President is adamant that he will not send in troops “Americans to Ukraine,” an administration official told CNN. Biden.

Officials told CNN that the military supplies were supplied by the United States Ukraine Suffered significant damage in the war and had to be transported out of the country Poland, Romania or other NATO countries, whose repair would take time and represent a disadvantage for the Russians.

forces of America They help Ukrainians with routine logistics and maintenance work, but they can only do it remotely via video chat or secure phone, which limits the work.

In recent months, while Russia established on the battlefield, The Biden administration began considering the possibility of sending in contractors specializing in the maintenance of munitions. Allowing experienced, US government-funded contractors into Ukraine could help repair damaged and high-value equipment more quickly, CNN said.

One of the advanced systems that officials say will require regular maintenance Gaza F-16Ukraine will receive it later this year.

Among the conditions to be guaranteed by the companies winning the contracts, Requires the US to develop robust risk reduction programs to mitigate threats to their employees.An official told CNN.

Officials also stressed that the new policy would not reflect the large presence of U.S. contractors that once existed. Iraq Y Afghanistan. Instead, a few dozen and a couple of hundred contractors work Ukraine At the same time.

For now only for maintenance

Andrés Gómez de la TorreAn expert on security issues said Trade Private military companies, also known as contractors in the United States, are a 21st-century military trend that has been pejoratively described as soldiers-for-hire or mercenaries through so-called subcontract wars. “It is a manifestation of the privatization of contemporary warfare.”

In the specific case of Ukraine, Gómez de la Torre indicated that the U.S. government is considering providing Ukraine with more logistical support for the amount of weapons it has transferred. “Washington has transferred Abrams tanks, Himarz missile systems, M77 artillery howitzers, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Javelins, etc., all of which require logistical support. But when they are transferred to third countries for maintenance or repair, it certainly means loss of time.

“It doesn’t look like direct outsourced troops are going to be involved with companies like the former Blackwater, today’s academy. So, for now it’s different than what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think it’s a first step in this context of so-called permanent mini-escalations with the West that are happening in this war,” said Gómez de La Torre said.

The expert recalled that in this conflict, the parties used military outsourcing companies, as in Russia Wagner group, and to Redut, a company formed by former agents of foreign intelligence in the SVR; Department of Defense and other military units in various geographical points of Ukraine. “Ukraine also used the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian manifestation of defense outsourcing.”

The controversial company is Blackwater

Private military and defense companies rose to prominence during America’s wars Iraq Y Afghanistan In the first decade of this century, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Company black water Being at the height of the war, it is one of the most iconic Iraq It sent tens of thousands of private contractors to the country. According to BBC Mundo, Their tasks ranged from armed missions to protecting convoys to feeding and housing troops at military bases.

The British network recalled it black water It made headlines after a series of eye-popping incidents, including the deaths of 14 Iraqi civilians shot dead by its contractors. Baghdad In 2007.

Four of the accused in the case fired rifles with telescopic sights, machine guns and grenades into a crowded square while escorting a diplomatic convoy.

According to the book “Soldiers of Fortune: From Condottieri to Blackwater”, by Carlos Canales and Miguel del Rey, the company was born at the end of the 90s and from the beginning had ex-soldiers as operators. America He began to cooperate with them with the aim of carrying out tasks where they could not use their army for image reasons.

Among the items they have Helicopters All types (MD-430 F, Sikorsky S-92 and Bell 412), Military armored vehicles Such as the RG-31, Cougar H, and Brazilian-made aircraft.

Journalist Jeremy Scahillauthor”Blackwater: Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary“, he says in his speech that they were also entrusted with such tasks as “ordinary soldiers exhaust themselves, protecting personalities”.

In 2007, according to the Spanish newspaper ABC black water He trained at his base in North Carolina About 40,000 people a year And was set to be “the second largest group in the country after the US military”.

According to a report by Aerospace & Defense News, the global private military and defense industry will grow from $224 billion in 2020 to more than $457 billion in 2030.