The United States may lift the ban on the deployment of American military contractors in Ukraine.
CNN reports this with reference to four American officials.
It is noted that such a change in the decision will be another "shift" in the Biden administration's policy towards Ukraine, as, according to CNN, "the US looks for ways to give Ukraine’s military an upper hand against Russia."
Officials indicated that this decision is still under development and has not received final approval from President Biden. One administration official said:
"We have not made any decisions and any discussion of this is premature.The president is absolutely firm that he will not be sending US troops to Ukraine."
According to officials, the relevant changes may be approved by the end of this year, allowing the Pentagon to provide contracts to American companies to work in Ukraine (for the first time since Russia's invasion in 2022). We are talking about a small number of specialists, ranging from a few dozen to several hundred.
Officials hope that this will speed up the maintenance and repair of weapons systems used by the Ukrainian military.
"Allowing experienced, US government-funded American contractors to maintain a presence in Ukraine means they will be able to help fix damaged, high-value equipment much faster," the report said, citing officials. It is believed that this includes F-16s, which will require regular maintenance.
"This would be a much more focused and thoughtful effort to support Ukraine in country," said retired Army officer Alex Vindman.
Earlier, Apostrophe wrote that the US is preparing a new military aid package for Ukraine.