The Biden administration is moving toward lifting a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine, according to four US officials familiar with the matter. This policy change aims to help Ukraine’s military maintain and repair US-provided weapons systems.
This potential shift marks another significant change in the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy as the US seeks ways to bolster Ukraine’s military capabilities against Russia. The policy is still under review and has not yet received final approval from President Joe Biden.
“We have not made any decisions and any discussion of this is premature,” said one administration official. “The president is absolutely firm that he will not be sending US troops to Ukraine.”
If approved, the policy could be implemented later this year, allowing the Pentagon to contract American companies for work in Ukraine for the first time since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Officials hope this will expedite the maintenance and repair of critical weapons systems used by the Ukrainian military.
For the past two years, President Biden has maintained a strict policy ensuring that American personnel, particularly US troops, remain distant from Ukrainian frontlines to avoid the perception of direct US military involvement. The State Department has also warned Americans against traveling to Ukraine since 2022.
However, with Russia making gains on the battlefield and US funding for Ukraine facing delays in Congress, officials are rethinking these restrictions. Allowing experienced, US government-funded contractors in Ukraine would facilitate faster repairs of essential military equipment. One such system likely to need regular maintenance is the F-16 fighter jet, which Ukraine is set to receive later this year.
Companies bidding for these contracts would need to develop comprehensive risk mitigation plans to ensure the safety of their employees.
This consideration follows several recent US decisions aimed at aiding Ukraine. In late May, Biden allowed Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with US weapons, a request previously denied. Last week, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that Ukraine could counterstrike anywhere along the Ukraine-Russia border using US weapons.
Officials stress that this policy will not lead to a large-scale contractor presence like in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, it will likely involve a few dozen to a couple hundred contractors working in Ukraine at any given time.
“This would be a much more focused and thoughtful effort to support Ukraine in-country,” said retired Army officer Alex Vindman, former director for European Affairs on the National Security Council. Vindman has advocated for lifting these restrictions for nearly two years and mentioned that the administration has been planning to ease the restrictions since earlier this year.
“Ukraine is an ally,” Vindman told CNN. “The US has keen, critical national security interests in supporting Ukraine, and there are plenty of risk mitigation measures.”
