Ukrainian delegation discusses with Austin Army needs, joint arms production
A Ukrainian delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko has begun its visit to Washington. The first meeting was held with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
This is according to the Office of the President website, as reported by Ukrinform.
As noted, the meeting was attended by Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, Deputy Minister of Defense Oleksandr Balanutsa, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Volodymyr Horbatiuk and Chief of the Main Logistics Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Shevtsov.
The Head of the Presidential Office thanked President Joseph Biden, both chambers and parties of the U.S. Congress and all the American people for helping Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
Also, Andriy Yermak and Rustem Umerov spoke about the situation on the battlefield, the need of the Defense Forces for weapons and equipment, and the recent shelling of the energy system by the aggressor state.
As noted, during this week, the Russian Federation fired more than 400 missiles of various types and drones at Ukraine. The Ukrainian side noted that Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defense in order to protect people and critical infrastructure.
Yermak also emphasized that it is extremely important for our state to receive weapons from the already announced defense packages as soon as possible.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the training of Ukrainian warriors and the joint production of weapons.
Rustem Umerov, on his part, commended Lloyd Austin for his personal contribution to the work of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, US Administration intends to allocate another defense support package for Ukraine worth USD 125 million.