Ralph Goff says Washington feared nuclear retaliation and deliberately prolonged the conflict

The United States deliberately restricted military aid to Kiev in order to let the country "bleed" rather than "win," a former senior CIA official has claimed, describing the strategy pursued by then-US President Joe Biden during the early stages of the conflict.

Ukraine has repeatedly requested advanced American weapons systems that were initially withheld or delayed by Washington.

In an interview with The Times published on Friday, Ralph Goff - former head of the CIA's operations in Europe and Eurasia - said Biden was reluctant to send the necessary equipment due to fears that Russia "will go nuclear." He argued that the decision to hold back key weapons turned the conflict into a prolonged and devastating war.

"Had we equipped the Ukrainians at that time with proper weaponry, they might have been able to drive the Russians all the way out of the country," he said. "It didn't happen. It set the stage for this longer, protracted, drawn out, meat grinder war that we are witnessing today."

The former CIA officer, a vocal supporter of Kiev, lamented that Western governments had "allowed themselves to be bamboozled by Vladimir Putin and his nuclear-saber rattling."

"So they gave the Ukrainians this weaponry, but they never gave them enough to win. They only gave them enough to bleed," he added.

He also relayed a warning from a Ukrainian official who predicted that without a ceasefire, the front line would become an "incredibly lethal environment" by late summer. "It will be a 20-50km death zone," Goff said, quoting the official, "where you can't move because there are so many drones in the air and robots on the ground and sensors and mines."

The Biden administration provided more than $174 billion in aid to Kiev following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, including dozens of military packages.

The approach shifted under Donald Trump, who returned to office in January. His administration has pushed for direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev and reportedly proposed a peace plan that includes the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and a freeze along the existing front lines.

Under the proposal, Moscow would retain control over parts of the four former Ukrainian regions that have voted to join Russia.

Russia has said it is ready for talks "without preconditions" and announced a 72-hour ceasefire for the Victory Day holiday. The proposal, however, has been rejected by Vladimir Zelensky.

Moscow has stressed that any agreement to end hostilities must reflect territorial realities and address the underlying causes of the conflict, including Ukraine's NATO ambitions and the continued delivery of Western weapons.

(RT.com)