Condoleezza Rice: Biden policies toward Ukraine ‘in the right direction’ but aid is ‘a little bit behind’

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday said the Biden administration’s policies toward Ukraine as it fends off Russia are “in the right direction,” adding, however, that U.S. assistance to Kyiv is sometimes “a little bit behind.”

“I think in general, in total, the policy is in the right direction, you have to support Ukraine, you have to do it as much as you can, as a part of a coalition, it’s really important that the Europeans are on board. And I’ve been impressed with what they’ve been able to achieve with the Europeans in creating that, that unity. And in a sense, NATO has never been in better shape,” Rice said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

“But I do think we sometimes seem to be a little bit behind in what we provide to the Ukrainians,” Rice said. 

The former secretary of State said the Biden administration should “anticipate a little bit better, what the Ukrainians are going to need, because it takes a long time to supply.”

The Biden administration has given billions to Ukraine since the war began last February, and recently announced it would send battle tanks to shore up Kyiv’s defense — though the tanks could take months to get there.

Now the administration is facing calls to equip Ukraine with F-16 fighter jet, though Biden has said he’s ruled them out “for now.”

Rice on Sunday underscored the importance of training Ukrainians to use equipment that they might receive, though she didn’t provide specifics. 

“I think the idea that you anticipate and therefore perhaps you start the training before it’s going to be necessary to send that equipment. The one thing we know, is that this war keeps evolving, and you have to try to evolve a little bit ahead of it,” Rice said.