Despite the first successes of Ukraine in repelling Russian military aggression, there are no guarantees that this situation will continue, the United States and NATO urgently need to provide assistance to Kyiv and its key elements should be intelligence, the supply of aviation and a partial "closed sky," ex NATO Supreme Commander and former U.S. Special Representative in Ukraine Kurt Volker have said.

"The U.S. military aid provided so far is insufficient for the scale of the problem Ukraine is facing. There needs to be more aid delivered much faster to help Ukraine get through next week," they wrote in "Six Ways to Help Ukraine Survive Right Now," published by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) think tank.

In their opinion, among these steps is ensuring the full flow of US intelligence information in real time to Ukraine about Russian military capabilities, positions and intentions. "

Legal arguments that such an exchange could point to the United States as a belligerent should be immediately refuted, for example, by fully including Ukrainian officers in intelligence processing so that they can report them directly," the authors said.

As a second step, they are offering to supply, in addition to Stinger surface-to-air missiles for low-altitude air defense, air defense systems that provide medium and high altitude capability.

"Ukrainian ground forces can hold their own against Russian ground forces, but we must not allow Russia to gain air superiority over Ukraine," Breedlove and Volker said.

The next two measures they cite are the transfer by NATO allies of Soviet-made MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine, with the necessary funding from the European Union, and the provision of American A-10 attack aircraft, which are currently planned to be mothballed as redundant defense assets. According to the authors of the article, thanks to previous military exchange programs in Ukraine, there are already a small number of pilots trained to fly the A-10.

As a fifth step, Breedlove and Volker propose the creation of a joint security corridor with NATO partners for the safe and rapid delivery of military supplies from Poland to Ukraine.

Finally, as noted in the article, as a humanitarian action, a no-fly zone should be established to protect the civilian population from Russian aerial bombardment.

"The exclusion zone should cover Kyiv and western Ukraine, but not extend further east, so as not to get closer to the borders of Russia. The no-fly zone will require clear communication, so that it is clear that it serves only humanitarian purposes, and that no US or NATO aircraft or drones will not engage in any hostilities against Russian ground troops, except in self-defense in the event of shelling," Breedlove and Volker said.

The authors of the article note that, frustrated by his initial failures, Russian President Vladimir Putin is now about to unleash new, unspeakable atrocities on the people of Ukraine, however, the Ukrainian people are still determined and ready to fight for their country.

"We must not wait for horrific images of more civilian casualties to flood our television screens before we decide on further action. The people of Ukraine deserve our urgent support — we must act now. Helping Ukraine survive for the next week will give sanctions more time to take a toll on Russia’s military effort, and more time for patriotic and level-headed Russian military, intelligence, and business leaders to comprehend the damage Vladimir Putin is doing to their homeland," Breedlove and Volker said.