John Herbst warns Ukraine security at risk

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said on April 24 that fighting in the Middle East is diverting U.S. attention and ammunition from Ukraine. (thefederalnewswire.com) Herbst, now senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, said the shift gives Russia short-term relief through higher oil prices and faster U.S. weapons consumption. He said Ukraine can still win if Western support remains substantial. (thefederalnewswire.com) (atlanticcouncil.org) In the same April 24 remarks at the Kyiv Security Forum, Herbst said some “America First” critics wrongly compare aid to Ukraine with U.S. troop deployments in the Middle East. He said the United States has not lost a single American service member in Europe while backing Ukraine. (ksf.openukraine.org) Herbst’s warning is tied to a broader argument: he says Ukraine is the Kremlin’s main national-security objective, and Moscow benefits when Washington gets pulled into other crises. In a March 25 interview, he said Vladimir Putin wants the United States “bogged down” in Iran rather than focused on a durable peace in Ukraine. (kyivpost.com) He also argued that Russia’s war is central to Moscow’s effort to weaken U.S. influence in Europe. In his April 24 interview, he said a Russian victory in Ukraine would endanger American security, not just Ukraine’s sovereignty. (thefederalnewswire.com) Herbst has made that case from a long diplomatic résumé. He served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006 and later held senior State Department posts on stabilization, the post-Soviet region, and the Middle East. (atlanticcouncil.org) His immediate point was narrower than a call for a new policy. He said Western capitals should keep military aid flowing to Kyiv even as conflicts in the Middle East compete for weapons, money, and political attention. (thefederalnewswire.com) (ksf.openukraine.org) The thread running through all three appearances is the same: the more Washington’s focus shifts elsewhere, the more room Moscow gets to wait out Ukraine’s backers. Herbst said that window can close if support stays in place. (thefederalnewswire.com) (kyivpost.com)