Decisive moment in war - Austin
This was stated by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, chairman of the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Ukrinform reports.
"This is a decisive moment for Ukraine and a decisive decade for the world,” the defense secretary said.
He noted that Russia is “regrouping, recruiting, and trying to reequip.”
“It is not a moment to slow down. It is time to dig deep,” said Austin.
The Ukrainian people are watching us, the Kremlin is watching us, and history is watching us," Austin said.
He emphasized that the partners should maintain their determination to help Kyiv as much as needed, and even increase their support, because everyone understands that Putin is ready to continue his senseless imperial war. Recently, he has been carrying out brutal attacks on peaceful innocent people; the Russian army targets purely civilian infrastructure in order to break the spirit of Ukrainians.
"But they have failed. And the people of Ukraine have inspired the world," stated the American military commander.
He noted that Russia is beginning to run out of ammunition, suffering massive manpower losses at the front, and turning to its few remaining partners for help. But even Iran and North Korea are unwilling to admit that they provide Russia with weapons, the general noted.
Instead, Ukraine's partners continue to support it. Austin talked about the large aid packages announced by Washington since the beginning of the year. According to him, the new $2.5 billion package will help better protect Ukrainian cities and the sky.
The total aid of the United States to Ukraine in the field of security and defense already exceeds $26.7 billion, the defense secretary informed. The U.S. is ready to continue to champion the provision of aid, including in terms of military training. At the same time, Austin especially emphasized reporting on assistance in cooperation with the Armed Forces.
The head of the Pentagon also listed the equipment and services provided by such countries as Poland, Germany, France, and others.
"This is a big investment for Ukraine," Austin noted.
The heads of defense agencies of about 50 countries, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Mark Milley, and Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov are taking part in the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine addressed the participants via video link.
Photo: CNN
