Ukraine envoy to US says war fatigue would embolden Putin

WASHINGTON • Ukraine's envoy to Washington cautioned the US and allies against fatigue over a war that is costing billions of dollars in security assistance, saying it would be far costlier in the end to let Russia's President Vladimir Putin go unchallenged.

"Can you simply say, 'OK, let's forget about Ukraine and do something else'? The answer is no," Ambassador Oksana Markarova said in an interview on Thursday in Washington.

If Mr Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, she said, "it means that he will attack other countries in Europe" that are covered by Nato's mutual defence pact. "And then everyone will have to fight, and it's going to be much more expensive."

Ms Markarova, whose home near Kyiv was occupied by Russians for 42 days, said that so far she had not seen any sign that support for Ukraine was flagging, despite its frequent requests for more advanced weaponry and billions in financial aid.

"Your best shot is to help us to fight and stop it while it's still in Ukraine," she said. Failure to block Mr Putin now would only embolden him further, she said, citing Russia's push into Georgia in 2008 and its seizure of Crimea in 2014.

As winter approaches in Western Europe, Ms Markarova, a former finance minister, acknowledged the prospect that Russia could cut off oil and gas supplies that remain crucial for heating millions of homes and powering industry.

"The circle of Russian allies is a very small circle now," Ms Markarova said.

"But in addition to countries like North Korea and Iran and others that still support Russia, winter is one of their allies."

Ukraine endured Russian efforts to weaponise energy supplies in 2009, but "not all of our partners diversified or decreased their dependence on it before now", she said.

Ms Markarova said that the influx of US weapons systems has been crucial. But she added that still more long-range systems are needed, "not because we need to shoot at Russian territory" but "simply because we need to be able to reach everywhere in our territory" and to have flexibility over where to deploy forces.

She said Pentagon officials "know what we need, why we need it".

Asked what systems Ukraine has requested but not yet received, Ms Markarova cited different munitions for the Himars rocket system, and types of howitzers in addition to the M777s received to date.

Ukraine is also requesting models of pilotless aircraft beyond the Turkish-made Bayraktar, and the US-made Switchblade, Phoenix Ghost and Puma.

BLOOMBERG