American intelligence will gather evidence on the ground to support Putin’s indictment, working with intelligence agencies of other countries
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON The White House is engaged on three fronts.
Let’s start with the less visible but perhaps most important in the short term for the fate of the war. Joe Biden got it yesterday, Monday April 4th, as a side note: We’re going to send more guns to Ukraine.
The scenario, which is not only aimed at the Pentagon, seems to have been defined now (read the realtime updates here). The Putin army will intensify its efforts in the southeast of the country, although unrest in Kyiv and other cities will continue. The Ukrainian army is stationed in a pocket bounded by the city of Dnipro to the west, Kharkiv to the east and the Donbass to the south. In recent days, US intelligence has informed the American media that it expects a Russian pincer maneuver, with forces arriving from the north and withdrawing from the south. Objective: Surround and destroy the Ukrainian formations. The Russians will be powerful: at least 600 tanks and over 3,000 armored vehicles will be deployed, according to the Pentagon.
Does Zelenskyy’s military have the means to resist and thwart the maneuver, as happened north of the capital?
Here the administration is silent, but for some analysts the answer is no.
Antitank Javelin missiles or antiaircraft Stingers may not be enough. That’s why Zelenskyy insists: we need planes, tanks, heavy artillery, other drones. So far, Biden has only given the green light for the delivery of Soviet tanks. But not enough. The US President will now have to decide whether to cross the line he has respected so far: no delivery of offensive weapons to avoid the risk of direct US and NATO involvement. In the evening, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby spoke up: We have to redouble our efforts to help the Ukrainians militarily, and we have to be very flexible.
The second front is that of sanctions. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that the United States is working closely with the Europeans. He also stated that there would be an announcement within the week. In this case, however, the Americans are waiting for the outcome of the discussion between the EU partners on the key issue of the Russian energy export embargo, whether it is about coal, oil or, less likely, gas.
Finally, the investigation into war crimes in Bucha. Sullivan himself explained how the US will proceed to indict Vladimir Putin for war crimes. Sullivan pointed out that there is no reason to talk about genocide at this time. But the US government, he explained, will take a fourstep approach.
First, American intelligence will collect evidence on the ground, working with other countries’ intelligence agencies. Sullivan gave no names, but the main reference to Great Britain.
Second: the information is compared with that of the Ukrainians.
Third, all material is shared with already active NGOs and the UN.
Fourth, use videos, films broadcast by the media or posted on social media. Sullivan concluded: The US government will agree with the allies to which body the complaint should be referred.
April 5, 2022 (change April 5, 2022 | 10:16)
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