Ukraine’s military is seeing results with a new border-focused strategy after the White House eased the restrictions on Kyiv’s use of U.S.-provided weapons to attack Russian targets just across the border, the Pentagon’s top spokesman said in an interview this week.
Although the Biden administration continues to draw the line at approving attacks deeper into Russia with long-range weapons, Ukrainian forces are having a greater impact holding off a new Russian offensive despite the restrictions on how it can employ its U.S. firepower, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s spokesman, told The Washington Times for its “Threat Status” podcast.
Over the past several months, the Kremlin has attempted to conduct counteroffensive operations in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region by assembling forces along the border and launching preparatory strikes.
“The decision was made to enable [Ukraine] to conduct counter-fire or defensive strikes using U.S.-provided weapons. It has had an effect,” Gen. Ryder said. “It has really enabled the Ukrainians to put a check on some of those Russian advances and hold the line.”
China and Russia are historic antagonists but the leaders of both countries have banded together against the West, especially Washington. The Pentagon is monitoring how their military forces conduct joint missions, but Gen. Ryder said it will be hard to match the efficiency of joint NATO forces, which have been maneuvering and flying together for decades.
“You just don’t see anything close to that when it comes to China and Russia,” Gen. Ryder said. But, “the relationship that we see developing between Russia and China is something that we absolutely keep an eye on. We see them further developing this relationship.”
The U.S. has laid the diplomatic groundwork over the years that now gives Washington the ability to call on the support of allies from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region if necessary. It’s another strategic advantage that adversaries like China and Russia can’t rely on, Gen. Ryder said.
“One of the strategic advantages of the United States of America is the strength of our alliances and partnerships around the world. They enable us to work with like-minded partners to promote regional stability and security,” Gen. Ryder said.
The U.S. military’s National Defense Strategy identifies China as the country’s most immediate military and economic challenger while marking Russia and Iran as potential threats. Gen. Ryder pushed back on criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of international hot spots like Russia, Israel and Yemen.
“We’ve actually been quite successful when it comes to deterrence,” he said. “We are not at war with China. We are not at war with Russia. We have continued to prevent significant terrorist attacks like what we saw on 9/11 from occurring. We’ve importantly prevented to date a wider regional war in the Middle East with countries like Iran at the center.”
He also observed that the U.S. military isn’t taking part in Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, despite the firepower Washington has provided to Israeli forces since Hamas militants attacked Israel last October. American forces play a critical role in the region although no U.S. troops are directly involved in the major battles.
“We do have forces in the region to serve as a deterrent to potential aggression by state and nonstate actors [and] to provide force protection to our own forces,” Gen. Ryder said.
Gen. Ryder also defended the U.S. policy in Yemen despite six months of almost continuous attacks by Houthi Yemeni rebel forces against commercial ships operating in the heavily trafficked Red Sea. He said the U.S. continues to work with allies to ensure the freedom of navigation in a region where up to 15% of global commerce regularly transits.
“At the end of the day, this is about freedom of navigation. The Houthis have attempted to close off this water. We’ve deterred them from doing that,” he said. “Our goal is not to get into a conflict with the Houthis, it’s to degrade and disrupt their ability to conduct these strikes. We’ve taken away significant capability from the Houthis.”
The recent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump — and reports that Iran may have explored other attempted attacks on the current GOP standard-bearer — hasn’t resulted in any changes to the military’s force posture, Gen. Ryder said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin released a statement condemning the violence, which he said has no place in a democratic country like the United States. “He highlighted that this is not the way we resolve our differences in America. It can never be the way,” Gen. Ryder said.
Gen. Ryder, a career Air Force public affairs officer, said he never expected to have the position he now holds as the Pentagon’s public face. Mr. Austin hand-picked Gen. Ryder for the assignment, a job made even more interesting because his boss has a reputation of being notoriously press-shy.
“It was really kind of the opportunity of a lifetime. When Secretary Austin asked me if I would be willing to do it, there’s only one answer to that question,” he said. “It’s been amazing [but] it definitely can be stressful at times.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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