But firmly support Kiev in defending itself against “Russian aggression”
Ukraine has received a “tough love” message from the U.S., which guarantees the support of the U.S. authorities, but requires reforms to fight corruption.
Alexander Vershbow, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General in 2012-16, said during an online discussion at the Kiev Security Forum.
Vershbow noted that “there was a pretty clear signal that the United States is firmly committed to helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression, sabotage and other hybrid manifestations that Russia resorts to in order to destabilise Ukraine”.
“After such a signal, there is no doubt that Ukraine’s freedom, security and ultimate Euro-Atlantic integration is an important priority for the Biden administration”, – the politician concluded.
At the same time, he said, the poignant aspect of this signal was that America expects Ukraine to step up reforms and fight corruption.
“The essence of the message is that Ukraine needs to strengthen its democracy and the rule of law in order to be more effective against Russian dominance, because defence means are not enough for that… This is the so-called tough love message.”
He said the US was concerned about a certain backsliding on reform and anti-corruption in Ukraine.
“Especially when you think back to March 2020, when several key reformers were fired from the government. We saw some of the anti-corruption bodies, the legal system fall into disrepair, we saw individuals associated with Yanukovych return to key positions.”
Vershbow believes that even if the United States provides massive defence assistance, “it may not be enough to compensate for Ukraine’s inability to fight the internal enemy as effectively as it fights the enemy that crossed the border in Donbas.