Ukraine: What Is the US Doing; Is It Enough; How Do We Know?

I try to follow what is going on in Ukraine, including what the United States is doing to help Ukraine and whether we need to do more.  I read articles.  I listen to panel discussions and podcasts.  And I get confused.

Consider whether the US is providing enough military aid to Ukraine and whether we are providing the right military aid.  In a panel discussion Friday morning sponsored by the Atlantic Council, Gen. Philip Breedlove (ret.), former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said this about what we are providing (these are my words, not direct quotes):

• We need to get aid to Ukraine; we have said we’re going to get it there, but it’s not there yet.
• We especially need to supply things like coastal cruise missiles and high-altitude anti-aircraft missiles.
• We need a high-level person who is focused on the performance of our promises – on actually getting stuff there.
• We need to do more if we want Ukraine to win.

On the other hand, just three hours later, in a panel at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe for The New York Times, who is based in Brussels, said: “We’re pouring tons of stuff into Ukraine.  You have no idea.  I mean, a lot of it’s secret ….”¹

So who do you believe?  Is Gen. Breedlove, because of his military background, just naturally wanting us to do more in terms of military aid?  Is Mr. Erlanger, not a military expert, seeing (and being told) “tons of stuff” going to Ukraine but maybe not realizing those “tons” don’t include what Ukraine needs most or maybe not understanding how quickly supplies are used up on a modern battlefield?

While I would think Gen. Breedlove has the better understanding on this issue,² others make give more credence to Mr. Erlanger.  I.e., it’s hard to know.

One other point.  Regardless of whether you think Mr. Erlanger is right or wrong on the issue of whether we are providing enough military aid to Ukraine, he thinks we are, and the fact that he thinks so will affect, to some extent, the rest of his reporting on Ukraine.  It is those kinds of second-order effects on reporting, etc.,  that make it so hard to really know what is going on.
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¹ These comments start at about 16:35 in the video.
² Comments by Lt. General H.R. McMaster (ret.) seem to agree with those of Gen. Breedlove.  (See his comments on various “Goodfellows” programs from the Hoover Institution.