Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated Tuesday that the United States would not allow Ukraine to fail in its struggle against Russia and voiced optimism that Congress would soon authorize additional aid as Kyiv’s soldiers face ammunition shortages.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has been blocking $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, and the US has warned that a recent $300 million tranche will only last a few weeks.
Austin stated that the “United States will not let Ukraine fail” at the start of a summit in Germany of dozens of Ukraine’s international supporters.
“We remain determined to provide Ukraine with the resources that it needs to resist the Kremlin’s aggression,” he said.
Washington announced the $300 million package for Ukraine last week, but Austin said it was possible only due to savings on recent purchases.
“We were only able to support this much-needed package by identifying some unanticipated contract savings”, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Monday that it is “critically important for us that the Congress soon completes all necessary procedures and makes a final decision” on Kyiv’s help.
Austin expressed hope Tuesday that the US Congress will approve the increased funding “soon” and that assisting Ukraine benefited both Washington and Kyiv.
“The United States supports Ukraine because it is the right thing to do and because America is concerned when freedom is threatened. But we also support Ukraine because it is critical to our own security,” he stated during a press conference.
Speaking beside Austin, the top US military leader, General Charles “CQ” Brown, stated that assisting Ukraine “strengthens NATO.” It contributes to strengthening the defense industrial foundation of the United States, Europe, and the world.”
“Russia’s strategy is to wait out Western willingness to back Ukraine. “This coalition must not allow that strategy to succeed,” he stressed.
However, the delay in supplying additional aid has already hampered Kyiv’s soldiers.
Russia said Tuesday that its troops have made further progress in eastern Ukraine, following the capture of Avdiivka a month ago.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military were “having to pay attention to their supply rates and how they execute,” Brown told reporters on their way to the Ramstein meeting.
‘Incremental gains’
According to Brown, there is “incremental back and forth” between Ukraine and Russia, with “incremental gains on both sides.”
However, he pointed out that “even as the Russians have gained territory, they do it at a pretty big cost in number of casualties, like in personnel, but also in number of pieces of equipment that are being taken out” .
Austin on Tuesday stated that “Russia has paid a staggering cost for (President Vladimir) Putin’s imperial dreams” , claiming it spent “up to $211 billion to equip, deploy, maintain, and sustain its imperial aggression against Ukraine” .
“At least 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded” since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, Austin said, adding that Ukraine had also “sunk, destroyed, or damaged some 20 medium-to-large Russian navy vessels”.
The sinkings have been an embarrassment for Moscow, and Russian official media revealed Tuesday that the navy’s commander has been changed.
Austin and other US officials have led the charge for international assistance for Ukraine, quickly forming a coalition to defend Kyiv after Russia invaded and coordinating supplies from dozens of countries.
Speaking on the margins of the Ukraine summit, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Berlin had promised Ukraine another half billion euros in military aid.
“That includes 10,000 rounds of ammunition from our military’s stockpile,” he told reporters.
Germany is Ukraine’s second-largest military donor after the United States, which has pledged tens of billions of euros in aid to Kyiv since February 2022.
However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has recently faced criticism for refusing to provide long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Scholz slammed domestic critics at an event on Tuesday, calling the issue “embarrassing for us as a country”.
Germany is concerned that Taurus missiles could be used to reach targets deep within Russia.
Scholz has frequently said that “German soldiers must not be linked at any point or place to the targets that this system reaches”.