Donald Trump’s pick for the U.S.’s top military post has said that “Ukraine has the right to self-defense” and advocated for continuing Washington’s military support for Kyiv, adding that it helps deter “further Russian aggression.”
Trump stunned the Pentagon in February by firing Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and naming retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Caine to succeed him.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the nation’s highest-ranking military officer and the principal military advisor to the president, the secretary of defense and the National Security Council, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Caine served in the Iraq War and was the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, America’s top foreign intelligence agency, from 2021 to 2024.
During a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Caine said: “From a military standpoint, Ukraine has the right to self-defense, and from that standpoint our security assistance helps Ukraine to defend itself.
“Our assistance improves Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table and deters Russia from further aggression.”
He added that Washington “should focus on what unique capabilities only the U.S. can provide, while Europe increases its share of support.”
Caine said that Russia’s conventional military capabilities have been stretched thin by its three-year war in Ukraine but cautioned that Moscow could still engage in asymmetric activities below the “threshold of military conflict.”
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the nation’s highest-ranking military officer and the principal military advisor to the president, the secretary of defense and the National Security Council, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Caine served in the Iraq War and was the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, America’s top foreign intelligence agency, from 2021 to 2024.
During a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Caine said: “From a military standpoint, Ukraine has the right to self-defense, and from that standpoint our security assistance helps Ukraine to defend itself.
“Our assistance improves Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table and deters Russia from further aggression.”
He added that Washington “should focus on what unique capabilities only the U.S. can provide, while Europe increases its share of support.”
Caine said that Russia’s conventional military capabilities have been stretched thin by its three-year war in Ukraine but cautioned that Moscow could still engage in asymmetric activities below the “threshold of military conflict.”
Putin wants to drag the war
He also warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains committed to continuing the war, adding: “Moscow likely views the conflict is in its favor.”
He added: “The conflict in 2025 likely will continue to be a war of attrition, with both sides suffering heavy losses of personnel and materiel.”
On Monday, Russia launched its spring conscription drive, aiming to draft 160,000 men while also pushing for voluntary enlistment.
The quota is the highest since 2011 and marks an increase of 10,000 from last year’s spring campaign, which called for 150,000 men to be drafted.
Some of Caine’s comments sharply contrast Trump, who has adopted a more conciliatory stance toward Russia than his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
It has sparked fears in Kyiv and Europe that he might push for a peace deal in Ukraine that favors Russia, potentially emboldening the country to pursue further aggression in the region.
Members of Trump’s administration have suggested that territorial concessions from Ukraine are likely to be part of any peace settlement to end the three-year-long war.
Russia currently occupies parts of Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. It wants these regions to be recognized as part of Russia, a demand that Kyiv strongly rejects.
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