American About-Face
By: Giorgio Provinciali
Live from Ukraine
Chernivtsi — After spending over a month continuously in Donbas, where we documented the most significant problem plaguing the Ukrainian army — the lack of weapons, equipment, and ammunition — we traveled for a few days to western Ukraine. Upon entering Chernivtsi, we encountered men from the 107th Territorial Defense Brigade and the 94th and 95th, with yellow-blue and red-black flags draped over their shoulders and a clear plastic box around their necks, begging for donations in the middle of the street to buy vehicles and basic equipment for use in Donetsk.
A heartbreaking scene for us, still carrying the mud of Donbas on our bodies and vehicles, where we struggled for over a month with the men from those brigades. After lengthy conversations with them and with the local command leaders stationed in Bukovyna, we received definitive confirmation of our impressions from the field, including a significant detail that we had previously avoided reporting to prevent alarmism: the chronic shortage of artillery, counterbattery fire, spare parts, and heavy weapons — a sector in which Russia holds overwhelming superiority — has been worsened by the unannounced interruption of several types of U.S. weapons.
Without going into detail about the specific weapons involved, to avoid making things easier for the Russians, it’s important to understand that this isn’t due to logistical issues but rather political decisions aimed at influencing the course of the war.
This was confirmed a few hours ago by the commander of the German Armed Forces, Christian Freyding, revealing that the Trump administration did not even notify Berlin of the supply blockade. Freyding also reportedthat the direct channel with the Pentagon, through which he too could exchange messages intensively, has been closed.
«NATO is paying us. At the same time, Donald Trump started a press conference by openly claiming that the US no longer spends money on aid to Ukraine. «The allies cover the full cost for everything. They pay us and then distribute what we send them. They no longer steal from us like when Biden was in charge.»
Referring thus to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), the program under which NATO countries buy American weapons for Ukraine, the White House leader implicitly confirmed that this mechanism, however, depends on Washington’s whim. Washington is free to set the rules, dictate the timing, set prices, and apply caveats.
As Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha noted yesterday, 21 nations have joined the PURL, bringing the total to over $4 billion. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also recalled that Australia and New Zealand (which are not members of the Atlantic Alliance) have also committed to covering the costs of arms to Ukraine to ensure a stable flow.
As we have verified in the field, this is not happening because the flow of American weapons paid for with PURL funds remains all but stable.
For over a month, we have traveled along the front lines of Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Donetsk, meeting men from dozens of brigades: all ready to fight but without the weapons to do so.
Sleepless nights and painful hours spent in tunnels so narrow we could barely stand. Endless journeys aboard old Ladas equipped with anti-drone wire mesh. Emergency stops that would test even the best military technician. Throughout that time, which spans at least four years during which we have been compiling daily dispatches from the field, we have documented a simple truth:
Ukraine lacks ammunition, weapons, and the means to fight. Not men, nor courage. To solve this enormous problem, we don’t need more unarmed human resources (mobilizing the 18–24 age group, whom the government has instead allowed to leave the country), but reliable partners who can ensure that the flow of weapons is stable and secure.
The Russian Federation can rely on loyal allies who, under the pact of steel between regimes against the West, continue to support it in every way: millions of artillery shells, thousands of mortars and soldiers, hundreds of missiles, dozens of cannons from North Korea; dual-use systems, drones, equipment, and financial backing from China; recruitment campaigns carried out in over 40 countries, and — sadly — a steady flow of money not only from India but also from the European Union.
After nearly 12 years of war, the European Union announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement on the rules for the gradual suspension of Russian gas imports: it will expire on September 30, 2027. An eternity during which Moscow will continue to be able to count on European support to produce the missiles that Ukraine lacks and that the other guarantors of the agreement signed in Budapest on December 5, 1994, refuse to provide. The rest trickles in gradually, with pointless bans and sudden shutdowns.
The PURL idea might have been good if someone on the right side of history had been in the Oval Office of the White House. Sadly, instead, a man who, in the past few hours, even asked the EU to halt the reparation loan to Ukraine, funded with interest from frozen Russian assets, now sits there.
Thirty years ago, Kyiv gave up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal in exchange for a promise that its independence and sovereignty would be protected.
What it received in return is in the outstretched hands of the men we met.
If you look closely at this photo, in the offering box used by the soldiers to ask for alms (it goes without saying that we – and you, through your donations – have contributed) you will see a picture of the same “star” of Donetsk that we used in our Charity.
You can see it in the link below here:
THANKS TO ALL WHO BACK US IN THESE HARD TIMES
您可以在下面的链接中看到它：
致任何相信我们工作并想支持它的人
在过去三年里，作为自由撰稿人，我们一直在乌克兰战争的所有前线进行报道，自从大规模……
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/9k3lwAl8Wo
感谢所有在这些困难时期支持我們的人
美国的反转
作者: Giorgio Provinciali
乌克兰前线报道
切尔尼夫齐 — 在顿巴斯连续待了一个多月，记录了乌克兰军队面临的最大问题——武器、装备和弹药的匮乏后，我们花了几天时间前往乌克兰西部。在进入切尔尼夫齐时，我们遇到了来自107号领土防卫旅和94、95号旅的士兵们，他们肩上披着黄蓝色和红黑色的旗帜，脖子上挂着透明的塑料盒，在街道中间乞求捐款，以购买车辆和基本装备用于顿涅茨克。
（图：就在撰写这篇文章前，我在切尔尼夫齐拍了这张照片。在我车窗前，仍沾着顿巴斯的泥土，那些人在乞求捐款，以支持还在顿涅茨克（我们刚刚离开的地方）作战的他们的旅——版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
对我们来说，这是一个令人心碎的场景，我们的身上和车辆上仍沾着顿巴斯的泥土，在那里我们与那些旅的士兵们奋斗了一个多月。在与他们以及驻扎在布科维纳的地方指挥官的长时间交谈后，我们得到了对我们在前线印象的明确确认，包括我们之前避免报道以防止引发恐慌的一个重要细节：火炮、反炮火、备件和重型武器的长期短缺——这是俄罗斯占据绝对优势的领域——因美国在未通知情况下对多种类型武器的供应中断而更加恶化。
为了避免让俄罗斯人轻易获利，此处不详细说明具体涉及的武器，重要的是要明白，这并不是因为后勤问题，而是出于旨在影响战争进程的政治决定。
德国武装部队指挥官克里斯蒂安·弗雷丁在几小时前确认，川普政府甚至没有通知柏林有关供应封锁的消息。弗雷丁还报告称，他与五角大楼直接沟通的渠道也已关闭，通过这个渠道他本可以进行频繁的信息交流。
（图：我在顿涅茨克的奥列克桑德里夫卡录制了这段视频——版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
（图：切尔尼夫齐街头乞求募捐的士兵们——版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
“NATO在资助我们。”与此同时，唐纳德·川普在一个新闻发布会上公开宣称，美国不再对乌克兰提供援助。“盟友们承担了所有费用。他们付钱给我们，然后分配我们发过去的东西。他们不再像拜登执政时那样从我们这里偷东西。”
因此提及优先乌克兰需求清单（PURL），即北约各国为乌克兰购买美国武器的计划，白宫的领导者暗示该机制实际上取决于华盛顿的意愿。华盛顿可以自由设定规则、决定时机、定价并施加附加条件。
正如乌克兰外长安德烈·西比哈昨天所指出的，目前已有21个国家加入了PURL，累计金额超过40亿美元。北约秘书长马克·鲁特也提到，澳大利亚和新西兰（这两个国家并非大西洋联盟成员）也承诺承担给乌克兰提供武器的费用，以确保稳定的供应。
正如我们在前线核实到的，这一切并未发生——因为使用PURL资金购买的美国武器供应几乎没有任何稳定性。
（图：几天前我在顿涅茨克州与乌克兰第28号“冬季远征”旅的第二机械营的士兵们一起。保持士气高昂至关重要，尤其是在困难时期。在我们身后，是一条反无人机走廊，乌克兰的后勤在此不断运行——版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
一个多月以来，我们在扎波罗热、第聂伯罗彼得罗夫斯克、哈尔科夫和顿涅茨克的前线往返穿梭，遇到了来自数十个旅的士兵：他们都准备战斗，却没有足够的的武器。
无眠的夜晚和在狭窄隧道中几乎无法站立的痛苦时光。乘坐配备反无人机网的老旧拉达车进行无尽的旅程。紧急停车，甚至对最优秀的军事技术人员都构成考验。在这段跨越四年的时间里，我们坚持每日从前线编录现场报告，我们记录了一个简单的真相：
乌克兰缺乏弹药、武器和进行战斗的手段。缺乏的不是士兵，也不是勇气。要解决这一巨大问题，我们不需要更多没有武装的人力资源（动员18到24岁的人群，而政府却允许他们离开国家），而是需要能够确保武器供应稳定和安全的可靠的盟友。
（图：这篇文章中描述的一辆老旧拉达。考虑到乌克兰31年前的付出，她应该得到的不止是这些——版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
（图：在这篇文章发表的前一晚，俄罗斯联邦向乌克兰发射了704个“死亡弹”，包括无人机和其它多种类型的导弹。俄罗斯人瞄准了乌克兰的6个主要能源基础设施，而乌克兰几乎没有武器可以反击 — 图形和数据来源：乌克兰武装部队）
俄罗斯联邦可以依靠忠实盟友，其在反对西方的钢铁公约之下，以各种方式持续支持俄罗斯：数百万发炮弹、数千门迫击炮和士兵、数百枚导弹、数十门来自北朝鲜的火炮；来自中国的双用途系统、无人机、设备和财务支持；在40多个国家的招募活动，以及——可悲的是——不仅来自印度，还有来自欧盟的稳定资金流入。
经过近12年的战争，欧盟周三宣布达成了逐步暂停俄罗斯天然气进口的规则协议：该协议将于2027年9月30日到期。在此漫长的时间里，莫斯科将继续依靠欧洲的支持，生产乌克兰缺乏的导弹，而1994年12月5日在布达佩斯签署协议的其他担保国则拒绝向乌克兰提供这些导弹。其他资源则逐渐流入，伴随着无意义的禁令和突如其来的撤销。
（图：那些后来的背叛乌克兰的国家领导人们在1994年签署了布达佩斯备忘录 — 照片来源：国家安全档案馆）
若站在历史正确一方的人坐在白宫的椭圆形办公室里，PURL的构想或许是个好主意。可悲的是，现在坐在那里的人，几小时前甚至要求欧盟停止对乌克兰的赔偿贷款，而这笔贷款是用冻结的俄罗斯资产的利息资金构成。三十年前，基辅放弃了世界第三大核武库，以换取对其独立和主权保护的承诺。
它所得到的回报就在我们所见到的那些人的伸开的双手里（用透明塑料盒做的募捐箱）。
（图：如果你仔细观察这张照片，在士兵们用来求施的募捐箱中（不言而喻，我们—以及你，通过你的捐款–做出了贡献），你将看到与我们用于众筹的同一顿涅茨克“明星”的照片——版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
