(Washington) Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged Monday to keep U.S. weapons flowing to Ukraine as Kyiv faces one of its toughest moments due to new attack of Russia.
Mr. Austin and about 50 defense leaders from Europe and the world met Monday to coordinate more military aid to Ukraine as the country tries to repel a Russian offensive in the northeast while launching its own attack on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
“We are meeting in a challenging moment,” Austin said, noting that Russia’s new attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, showed why aid is vital. He pledged to maintain the shipment of American weapons “week after week.”
Lloyd Austin told reporters that the group spent a lot of time talking about Ukraine’s critical need for air defense systems, which he said help repel Russian attacks.
“We will continue to press to ensure that Ukraine is sovereign and can defend its citizens and civilian infrastructure away from the front lines,” he said after the meeting.
Speaking alongside Mr. Austin, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that while there are no plans at this time to send back American trainers in Ukraine to work with Ukrainian forces, the United States could do so after the war.
“Once this conflict is over and we are in a better situation, I guess we can bring the trainers back,” he said.
The United States announced no new aid packages Monday, as Ukrainian forces continue to complain that weapons are trickling into the country after being blocked for months due to the congressional impasse on funding.
Pentagon officials said weapons prepositioned in Europe began entering Ukraine shortly after aid funding was approved in late April. It is unclear how much reached some front lines, where Russian troops have stepped up their assaults.
Ukraine in difficulty
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday during a visit to China that Moscow’s offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region was aimed at creating a buffer zone, but that it was not intended to capture the city.
Ukrainian troops are fighting to halt the Russian advance in the Kharkiv region, while intensifying their attacks in Crimea, notably against military infrastructure on the Black Sea coast and in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol.
Ukraine is struggling to send enough troops to the front lines as the war enters its third year and fighting takes its toll. In a bid to increase troop numbers, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed two laws, allowing prisoners to join the army and increasing fines for those trying to evade military service fivefold. The controversial mobilization law comes into force on Saturday.
In the four weeks since President Joe Biden signed the US$95 billion foreign aid package, including about US$61 billion for Ukraine, the United States has sent US$1.4 billion in weapons removed from Pentagon stockpiles and announced they would provide US$6 billion in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
The initiative funds long-term contracts with the defense industry, meaning the weapons could take several months or even years to arrive.
Recently, the United States agreed to send High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS) and rockets to it, as well as munitions for the Patriot and National advanced surface-to-air missile systems, munitions artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons, and a range of armored vehicles.
The State Department also approved a proposed emergency sale of HIMARS to Ukraine for an estimated amount of US$30 million. The state said Ukraine had requested to purchase three missile systems, which would be financed by the German government.
The United States is also providing additional coastal and river patrol vessels, trailers, demolition munitions, high-speed anti-radiation missiles, protective equipment, spare parts and other weapons and equipment.
The United States has now provided approximately US$50.6 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.