Eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border — Former President Donald Trump repeatedly said he would end it “very quickly” Russia’s war against Ukraine. He even promised thatif he wins the American election in November, he “will fix the problem before I even become president.”
Many Ukrainian and European leaders fear that would mean cutting off U.S. arms supplies and trying to force Ukrainian leaders to abandon parts of the country occupied by Russia in exchange for a truce.
From F-16 fighter jets to Patriot missile defense systems and artillery, the United States is Ukraine’s main arms supplier, providing more than $60 billion in military aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion at the end of February 2022.
CBS News met with troops from Ukraine’s 80th Air Assault Brigade in October near the Russian border. They used a birch forest to cover their positions and their US-supplied Stryker fighting vehicles armed with US-made .50 caliber machine guns.
Ukrainian forces used the Strykers – each a hulking 18-ton beast of armored steel – to launch their incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August. The bold offensive was aimed at weakening Moscow’s relentless missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. But just two months later, according to some estimates, Russian troops gains ground in eastern Ukraine faster than at any time since the early months of the war.
President Vladimir Putin’s forces now control about 20 percent of the territory of eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region.
Viktor Zakarov was a truck driver before the war. Now he’s a soldier, he drives a Stryker. He told CBS News he was deeply grateful to the United States for the Strykers and other assistance.
CBS News
When asked if he had seen the armored vehicles save Ukrainian lives, he did not hesitate.
“I saw it, heard it and felt it,” he said.
“We’ve never had anything like this before,” he said of the vehicles. “It’s a lot more protected.”
American weapons have helped hold back the Russiansbut any Ukrainian will quickly say they need more weapons, with more range, to push them in the other direction.
“First of all, I want to say a big thank you to all Americans for what we already have,” Zakarov added. “Sure, if you ask me what we need?” More vehicles, more armored vehicles, to stop the Russians a little further – to strike deeper inside Russia. »
The United States supported Ukraine long before a full-scale war broke out. In 2014, when Ukrainians rose up overthrow their pro-Russian governmentSenator John McCain was in kyiv, telling the people of the country: “This is your moment!”
John McCain Street in the Ukrainian capital was named in honor of the late senator.
But Putin responded to the overthrow of his close ally in kyiv a decade ago by sending troops to eastern Ukraine. It was then that Russian-backed forces took control of the Crimean peninsula and parts of Donbass, despite protests from Washington and its European allies. Since then, Russia has held these areas – and conquered new territories around them.
With the results of the U.S. presidential election too close to call and the future of vital U.S. support equally uncertain, the mood in Ukraine has become grim and anxious.
CBS News
Halina, who sells fruits and vegetables in kyiv and worries about her husband serving on the front lines, told CBS News that Ukrainian forces will hang on, but she hopes they won’t to do so without American support.
She said she feared that Trump, if he won another term in the White House, would end vital U.S. support.
“For us, it’s a question of survival,” she said, wiping away tears. “My personal family story: my husband’s family lives under (Russian) occupation in the Kherson region… For my family, this war means a lot. »
“We are really strong. We will hold on,” she said. “We hope that America will continue to help us and not abandon us.”
Holly Williams
