A bipartisan group representing U.S. legislators is asking the Biden administration for field hospitals to be established near Ukraine’s borders and to increase medical support in what’s likely to be a long-running war against Russia.
Since February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine, thousands of civilians have been killed by forces aligned to Ukraine. The Russian strikes against hospitals, and other targets non-military have resulted in large civilian casualties and limited Ukraine’s ability for care for the sick and wounded. Three dozen Russian attacks against medical facilities have been documented by the Associated Press, including hitting patients, doctors, and newborns.
More than 12 House members wrote Friday to Secretary Of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting that the U.S. fill in gaps in Ukraine’s medical infrastructure. The group recommends opening hospitals in eastern Poland and arming Ukraine with armored ambulances. They also suggest that the wounded and sick be taken to the Landstuhl regional hospital in west Germany by the U.S. military.
Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, said that “We’re going have to really step up to relieve the combat injured and civilian casualties which will be coming in weeks and months ahead.” He recently visited Poland and other countries within the region.
Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, a Republican, stated in a statement, “We must remain united and provide Poland, our NATO partners, with the necessary medical-healthcare assistance to ease the sufferings of the Ukrainian people.”
Most observers believe that the war in eastern Ukraine could continue into the summer, despite diplomatic efforts not making any public progress. The U.S. has pledged to support Ukraine but not send U.S. soldiers to Ukraine. This is in addition to avoiding actions that the White House considers to be bringing Russian President Vladimir Putin into direct conflict with Washington. If there is a strike at the border, it could be dangerous to send U.S. medics and doctors to eastern Poland.
Crow stated that he supports Biden’s decision to not send troops to Ukraine or to establish no-fly zones to prevent escalations with Russia. He said that providing medical support should not be viewed as an escalatory act.
Russia’s forces have shifted to a war on Ukraine’s east and south after failed to capture Kyiv. Putin seems to be focusing on an arc-shaped front through most of Ukraine’s Donbas, bombing military sites and hospitals as well as other shelters for civilians.
The Ukraine has held off against Putin’s offensive for longer than most people expected. A total of 2,000 troops are still trapped in a massive steel plant in Mariupol . This is the main port city of Mariupol that Russia is close to capturing after bombarding and shelling it for several weeks. Biden announced Thursday that $1.3 billion more in economic assistance and new weapons were added.
Crow, a former Army Ranger, stated that even though they are hundreds of miles from the frontline, U.S.- and Western-staffed field hospitals in eastern Poland could help ease the burden on Ukraine and “make certain there’s sustainability” to the conflict.
He stated that the Ukrainians do not have the ability to support the tens of thousand of combat wounded over the span of months.
A Pentagon spokesperson said that Marine Corps Lt. Colonel Anton T. Semelroth has provided tourniquets and first aid kits to Ukraine since the start of the war and that they are looking into what additional assistance might be possible.
When Ned Price was asked about Ukraine’s medical requirements, he said that the U.S. provides “the Ukrainian government resources it can use in whatever way it chooses.”
