The key, national security officials argued, was that the Ukrainians were the only ones making the final decision about whether, where, and when to shoot. Americans, the White House and Pentagon lawyers said, could collaborate on devising Ukrainian military strategy, arm Ukraine’s soldiers, and tell them generally where the enemy would be and when they would be there—all while avoiding becoming a “co-combatant” in the conflict. It was a finely turned legal distinction, but one very important to Biden, Jake Sullivan, and Antony Blinken, who had to make the case that the United States was aiding
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