Pentagon official responsible for coordinating Ukraine aid resigns – Politico
www.pravda.com.ua
Tue, 07 Jan 2025 19:25:29 +0200
Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia,who played a key role in coordinating US military aid to Kyiv, has stepped down from her position at the beginning of 2025.
Source European Pravda, citing Politico Details Cooper, who served in the Pentagon for more than 20 years, was instrumental in coordinating largescale deployments of US military aid to Ukraine following Russias fullscale invasion in 2022.
In her last position at the US Department of Defense, Cooper established strong relationships with many Ukrainian government officials.
According to Politico, she is regarded in Kyiv as an honest broker in negotiations.
Cooper first gained media attention in 2019 when she was summoned to Congress to testify about former President Donald Trumps attempts to pressure Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden.
Her testimony focused on the delay in providing Ukraine with US400 million in military aid allocated by Congress for training purposes.
She stated during the hearings that the funds were held without explanation and US officials began to raise concerns about how this could be done in a legal fashion.
Pentagon and State Department officials who worked closely with her, speaking to Politico on condition of anonymity, expressed fears that she might face persecution during Trumps presidency for her testimony and ties to Bidenera Ukraine policy.
Coopers duties at the Pentagon are currently being temporarily handled by Steven Schleien, the head of the Office of Defense Continuity and Mission Assurance, which ensures the uninterrupted functioning of the US administration in crisis situations.
Background It was previously reported that Trumpappointed Special Envoy for the RussiaUkraine war, General Keith Kellogg, has postponed his visit to Ukraine.
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