LOS ANGELES (OC).–NATO’s chief of military operations, Adm Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, said the the 32-member alliance was committed to a long-term and just peace in Ukraine. NATO “will stand with Ukraine up to the day in whch we will have them sitting around the table for long-lasting peace,” Dragone said, convinced that the European Union [EU] would continue funding Ukraine’s war with the Kremlin indefinitely until a lasting peace agreement can be reached. Dragon thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed in his bid to turn Ukraine into a puppet state like Belarus. “They will not get a friendly or puppet government like Belarus. Dragon pointed out that Sweden and Finland joined the NATO alliance, something expected since they relied on the Trans-Atlantic Alliance for years. Dragone had no comment whether Ukraine would join NATO anytime soon.
NATO’s annual budget is $4.4 billion dollar, not even close to sustaining Ukraine’s long-term war with the Kremlin. Without the EU funding Ukraine, the war would not be feasible. President Donald Trump said while he supports Ukraine’s attempt to halt the Russian advance, the U.S. would no longer fund proxy war under his watch. Former President Joe Biden and his former Vice President Kamala Harris was prepared to support indefinite war with the Kremlin. Whether or not the EU is prepared to take over the funding remains unclear. Dragone thinks there’s enough support in the EU to keep Ukraine adequately funded in terms of advanced weapons systems. Dragon wasn’t too concerned about Russia’s Burevestnik and Poseidon nuclear powered missiles. Any new Russian missile system is a concern for NATO, knowing Putin could use it on NATO.
Dragon said he was not threatened by Putin’s new arsenal, something he’s developed to stop NATO eastward advance on the Russian Federation. “We are not threatened by the them,” Dragone said. “We are just ready to defend our 32 nations and our one billion people, We are a nuclear alliance, Dragon said NATO needs better air defenses, something only the U.S. can supply. Whether NATO or the EU is prepared to pay for advanced U.S.-made weapons systems remains unclear. Dragone said NATO was working with the Pentagon a a “drone wall” on NATO eastern border, seeking to stop Russian flyover and drone incursions in the Baltic States, Poland and Romania. “The Alliance’s Allied Command Tranformation is Norfolk, Va., is already working on that. Putin knows that the U.S. plays an essential role in anything NATO does, especially new weapon systems.
Dragon as a military man doesn’t know how much how longer the EU is willing to foot the bill to the Ukraine War. EU officials led by French President Emmanuel Macron are committed to keeping Putin away from taking more Ukrainian sovereign territory. Putin holds some 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory after over three-and-a-half years of war. Trump has let Zelensky know his position clearly on continuing to battle the Kremlin. Trump told Zelensky to cut h is losses, end the war and start rebuilding Ukraine. Zelensky and the EU keeps talking like they’d keep the war going to prevent Putin from taking more sovereign territory. But since Putin already controls the 1,200 km battlefront, Ukraine continues to lose sovereign territory by the day. Dragon, as NATO military chief, knows his job, but doesn’t know how NATO plans to pay for it.
At some point Zelenksy and the EU will have to choose between perpetual war and settling the conflict with obvious compromises. Zelensky wants all his sovereign land back but that’s not something Putin is prepared to do. Fighting a war for over three-and-a-half years, Putin feels entitled to his spoils, requiring Zelensky and NATO to offer some concessions to end the conflict. Gone are the days when Biden and Zelensky thought the Russian military was near collapse. Putin sees the war a one of NATO, not primarily Ukraine. Zelensky has asked to join NATO for years, something Secretary-General Mark Rutte doesn’t support currently. Trump flat out told Zelensky that he won’t approve Ukraine joining NATO because it would run counter to ending the Ukraine War. Zelensky knows that Ukraine’s NATO membership would be a red line for the Kremlin.
Dragone does a good job running NATO’s military wing but doesn’t understand its limitations when it comes to financing. “There’s a lot of stuff on the market which will fulfill our immediate needs so we set up a new activity which is Eastern Sentry. . . Integrating all the air defenses that we already have on our eastern flank,” Dragone said, looking the U.S. to supply its most advanced air defense systems. Zelensky keeps asking for long-range missiles something they currently get from the U.K. So far, Trump has refused to give Zelensky Tomahawk cruise missiles to make deep strikes into Russian. Trump wants to move the war to the peace table, not escalate the fight into Russia’s oil infrastructure. Zelensky still thinks he can beat the Kremlin, something Trump doubts, knowing the time-and-money needed to pull it off, if ever. Zelensky still doesn’t think about settling the conflict.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
