US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin has iterated that the United States shares Ukraine’s sense of urgency to prevail on the battlefield.
“We are laser-focused on Ukraine’s needs, including air defense, fires and armor,” he said.
Speaking alongside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Ramstein airbase during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Austin disclosed that the Biden administration would announce another $250 million security assistance package for Ukraine.
“It will surge in more capabilities to meet Ukraine’s evolving requirements,” he noted.
Among the capabilities expected to be included in the aid package are 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, and spare equipment parts.
Austin stated that since the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting in June, the US has committed more than $4 billion in new security assistance for Kyiv.
Austin noted that Kyiv was continuing to “seize the initiative on the battlefield,” a clear reference to Ukraine’s ongoing offensive in Russia’s Kursk region.
“The Kremlin’s army of aggression is now on the defensive on its own turf,” Austin said.
“But we know that Putin’s malice runs deep. Moscow continues its offensive in the east of Ukraine, especially around Pokrovsk. And Putin is repositioning his troops in Kursk. And the Kremlin continues to bombard Ukraine’s cities and to target Ukraine’s cities and to target Ukraine civilians.”
Lloyd Austin
“That’s an outrage but Ukraine refuses to bend,” he said.
Meanwhile, the German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, said that Germany has not changed its position on long-range strikes with donated weapons deep into Russian territory.
He said that Germany will support Ukraine as long as it is necessary.
Pistorius added that he is “a little bit disappointed too” that more air defense systems haven’t yet made their way to Ukraine.
“We agreed in Washington to deliver more Patriot systems, air defense systems of any kind and up until now they haven’t yet arrived in Kyiv,” he said.
On the sidelines of the meeting in Ramstein, Pistorius revealed that Germany will deliver an additional 12 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
Canada Supports Ukraine’s Request To Strike Military Targets Inside Russia
Also on Friday, Canadian Minister of National Defense, Bill Blair said that his country supports Ukraine’s request to use long-range weapons on military targets inside Russia.
“One of the things that President Zelenskyy and his ministers have made very clear to us is that they are suffering significant attacks from airbases and military installations located within Russia, that those attacks are aimed towards their cities, their citizenry, and their critical infrastructure.
“And in order to properly defend themselves they have asked for permission to use long range fire capabilities that are being provided by the UDCG… I believe very sincerely that that will enable them to do a better job of protecting themselves.”
Bill Blair
While the US has said that much of the high-value targets inside Russia, such as the aircraft launching glide bombs, are outside of the range of long-range weapons like ATACMS, which have been a primary request from Ukraine, Blair said that Russia moving capabilities out of that range is a win in itself.
“By moving them [glide bombs] further back, it’s made them less effective and has decreased the vulnerability of Ukraine’s cities and critical infrastructure,” he said.
“And so if the Russians are being responsive to that potential threat, then I think that could be a very positive thing as well if it makes the Ukrainians’ situation more defensible and safer,” he added.
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