Michael Carpenter, Senior Director for Europe at U.S. National Security Council

The United States is constantly looking for opportunities to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including in the wake of the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv sector. The same applies to President Biden's decision to actually change the U.S. position on Ukraine's use of U.S.-provided weapons against targets inside Russia near the border. At the same time, Ukraine can count on more support in the process of integration into NATO, as well as in enhancing its military capabilities in the future to firmly resist any potential aggression. Michael Carpenter, Senior Director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, spoke about this and other issues in an interview with Ukrinform in Washington.

U.S. FOCUSES ON HOW TO SURGE MORE EFFECTIVE AIR DEFENSE TO UKRAINE

- After the U.S. President finally signed the Supplemental bill with more than $60 billion for Ukraine in April, the White House said that this should be enough until the end of this year. Given that the officials in Washington has repeatedly stated its intention to provide long-term support to Ukraine, does the administration plan to send a new supplemental request to Congress in response to Russian aggression?

- We've just passed the supplemental bill. And already in the month and a half or so since then, we have surged many packages of presidential drawdown authority as well as Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Let's also remember that we have provided I think $81 billion of support to Ukraine - that's a lot since the beginning of this war. $51 billion of that being military assistance. I can't speak to what will happen after this year. As you know, we have an election at the end of the year. But we are working right now and focused on how to surge as much capability to meet Ukrainian battlefield needs as we possibly can. And we understand that one of the preeminent needs right now is air defense. So we're spending a lot of time talking with our partners and allies on how we can surge more effective air defense to Ukraine at this moment in time. And that's where, again, President Biden's leadership, the establishment of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, sometimes known as the Ramstein format, has been critical in getting our allies and partners together to pool our efforts to provide Ukraine with what it needs.

BIDEN'S PERMISSION TO STRIKE TARGETS IN RUSSIA DOES NOT APPLY TO ATACMS

- Today (Friday - ed.), Secretary Blinken officially confirmed that President Biden approved permission for Ukraine to hit the Russian troops inside Russia with American weapons. Could you elaborate on it? Are there any restrictions, in particular, regarding using long-distance weapons in certain areas?

- So let me just explain to you. This comes in the context of the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, after which the Ukrainian side came to us and asked for permission to be able to strike targets in Russia that were firing against Ukrainian positions, Ukrainian villages, and towns. President Biden immediately, upon receipt of that request, directed his national security team to change the guidance to enable these sorts of counter-strikes. And that guidance is in effect, it has been in effect. So this is in direct response, and specifically, it enables in across the border counter-fire capability. But this does not apply to ATACMS or long-range strikes.

WE WANT TO PROVIDE UKRAINE WITH A BRIDGE TO NATO MEMBERSHIP

- A summit of G7 leaders will be held in Italy at the beginning of June, where President Zelensky is expected to participate. As media recently reported, the bilateral security arrangement between the US and Ukraine will be signed on this meeting. How might this change relations between countries now – during the war – and in the future?

- I don't have an announcement for you in terms of when we would sign this sort of an agreement. I will say that we have been in discussions, and I would even just remind your readers that President Biden convened the G7 plus countries at the Vilnius summit, at the last NATO summit, to discuss how collectively we could provide security assurances to Ukraine on a bilateral basis. And we have had discussions with the Ukrainian side ever since. But, for the moment, I don't have an announcement in terms of the timing of when we could realize such an agreement.

- But in general, how might the bilateral security agreement transform the relationship?

- So there's these bilateral security agreements that many of our allies and some partners have signed with Ukraine. And we expect that more will sign these sorts of agreements in the coming weeks and months. Then, there is also the NATO effort to support Ukraine. And what we're looking at doing there is providing Ukraine with a bridge to the membership so that when there is consensus in the Alliance on inviting Ukraine to become a member of NATO, that Ukraine is ready and capable of plugging into the Alliance to be interoperable and to credibly defend its own territory from day one.

So this NATO capability, together with a bilateral assurance, and together with what we're doing through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, collectively provide this capability that Ukraine needs, but that it has certainly a right to be able to employ given this senseless war being launched by Moscow.

- Let's talk about the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. I will not ask who will lead the U.S. delegation at the Summit because the White House must officially announce it. However, could you comment on What the U.S. administration expects from this event?

- There have been a number of these events at various levels, many at the National Security Advisers level. And what we expect is that this summit will again reinforce global support for a just, durable, lasting resolution to this war that respects the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. And that is really the sort of framework that we believe all nations around the world should be able to support. Russia could end this war today by respecting the UN Charter. All it has to do is stop the war. But it's important that the world communicate that by showing up and underscoring support for these principles.

- Secretary Blinken said in Prague that there will be a robust package of support for Ukraine at the NATO summit in Washington DC. Could you elaborate on what the package would include?

- So this is under deliberation right now in Prague at the foreign ministerial meeting. What we envision is a package of support for Ukraine that as I mentioned, will enable the Ukrainian military to be fully NATO interoperable, ready, capable, armed with the appropriate capabilities to be able to deter and defend from the minute that Ukraine receives an invitation to the Alliance. That is the bridge to membership as we're describing it, that we hope to achieve coming out of the Washington summit.

Yaroslav Dovgopol, Washington

Photo: State Dept./DCFPC/S.L.Brukbacher, Vasyl Korotkyi/Ukrifnorm