“We stand by the assessment that lethal aid couldn’t be delivered quickly enough [to Ukraine] to change the military balance of power on the ground,” General Stewart stated during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “It couldn’t get there quickly enough to make a difference,” he added.
Steward explained that the interior supply lines used by independence supporters in eastern Ukraine give them a “significant advantage.” Those engaged in the conflict against Kiev can be resupplied “a lot faster, with a lot heavier weapons than we can deliver,” he added.
The DIA Director also said that the US intelligence community believes an attempt by the US to provide weapons into the Ukraine conflict “would be a race to see who could arm” each side.
The US intelligence community has maintained that Russia is engaged in providing heavy weapons to fighters in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s leadership has dismissed the allegations that it is interfering in the internal affairs of Ukraine.
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Senator John McCain, have been calling for US weapons to be delivered to Ukraine to be used against Russia.
