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United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III has met with Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv as more funding and equipment is committed to the war-torn country.
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Secretary of Defense Austin III travelled to Ukraine on 20 November to meet with Ukrainian leaders, reinforce the staunch support of the United States for Ukraine’s fight for freedom, and discuss a long-term vision for Ukraine’s future force. He also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.
“I wanted to reassure the leadership that the United States of America will continue to support Ukraine,” he said during a media conference following the visit.
“We talked about the things that we’re going to continue to do to make sure they have what they need to be successful on the battlefield.
“I know that there are some things that we need to continue to work through to get the supplemental request approved (through US Congress) … And we’ll continue to work with Congress to do that.
“What happens here matters not just to Ukraine, but to the entire world.
“This is about the rules-based international order. This is about ... not living in a world where a dictator can wake up one day and decide to annex the property of his peaceful neighbour. That’s not the world we want to live in.”
The visit coincides with the latest round of security assistance announced by the United States government for Ukraine, which includes air defence capabilities, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment worth around US$100 million.
The package, also announced on 20 November, utilises assistance previously authorised for Ukraine during prior fiscal years under Presidential Drawdown Authority that remained after the PDA revaluation process.
It includes Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, one High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and ammunition, 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, Javelin and AT-4 anti-armour systems, TOW missiles, more than 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition, demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing, cold weather gear, spare parts, maintenance and other equipment.
US Secretary Austin is also expected to host the 17th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group – virtually from the Pentagon – later this month to continue international coordination and support for Ukraine. International partners have jointly provided more than $36 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
“That group has roared into action, and we have continued to work together to provide much needed security assistance in the form of (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems), other artillery platforms, tanks (and) munitions,” Secretary Austin said.
“And so, really good work on the part of our allies.”
