Ukrainian soldiers firing mortars. File photoWASHINGTON, May 31.The U.S. believes it will be more difficult to maintain the morale of the Ukrainian army with continued shelling, U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said Tuesday. «I think we have to be very careful about how we can give the Ukrainian military what they need. necessary, given that a grinding artillery battle is currently unfolding. In such conditions, frankly, it will be more difficult to maintain the morale of the Ukrainian forces, given the amount of shelling they are under,» Warmuth said, speaking at the Washington Atlantic Council. she added, Washington «cannot allow this crisis to escalate.» “Speaking of concerns about NATO unity, concerns about American citizens supporting this conflict if it escalates, I think this unity will be much more difficult to maintain,” the American minister said. this is due to the fact that Moscow «narrowed its goals and focused its efforts on the offensive in the Donbass.» In addition, in her opinion, the landscape in eastern Ukraine is more favorable for combat operations through artillery strikes.There is no talk of long-range missiles being delivered to Ukraine, State Department said. The Pentagon spokeswoman also commented on the possibility of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons, saying that in such a scenario, the country would deprive itself of the opportunity to be anything but a pariah on the world stage for many years. At the same time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that the United States accuses Russia of the possible use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine in order to intimidate its own population, Moscow, on the contrary, warns everyone against irresponsible steps, but this does not suit the United States. «(In this case) «Russia will remain an international pariah for decades to come. I think that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin should think extremely long and hard about whether he wants to bring Russia back into the international community ever. I don't see how that can happen if he will take the path of using nuclear weapons,» Warmouth said. Speaking about the possibility of strengthening NATO's eastern flank, the US Secretary of the Army acknowledged that the Baltic countries and Poland would like to see the permanent deployment of US troops. Warmouth noted that the United States is in contact with these states on this issue, but a final decision has not yet been made. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as of March 25, the Armed Forces completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
