Lloyd Austin praises NATO allies for their commitment to Ukraine
With additional U.S. aid still in doubt, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Tuesday called for “creative, adaptable and sustainable ways” to continue arming Ukraine and praised European allies who sought to strengthen Kiev’s military as the war against Russia entered a critical phase. stretch.
Mr. Austin, speaking in Germany at the start of a semi-regular meeting of nearly 50 countries supplying Ukraine’s armed forces, said allies would “dig deeper to get crucial security assistance to Ukraine.” He singled out Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden for recent weapons donations and noted the Czech Republic’s efforts to deliver 800,000 artillery shells – the first tranche of which could arrive on the battlefield within weeks.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Berlin would send Ukraine 10,000 rounds of much-needed artillery shells, 100 armored infantry vehicles and transport equipment in a new injection of aid worth 500 million euros, about $544 million.
“Things are progressing sometimes in small steps, sometimes in bigger steps, but the most important thing is the constant supply of ammunition,” Pistorius told journalists in Germany. local news reports.
The United States remains the largest donor of military aid to Ukraine, and last week Washington pledged another $300 million in air defense missiles, artillery shells and armor systems. The latest package also included assault missiles with a range of about 100 miles that deliver clusters of small munitions and can cause damage over a wide area, although they are still at least a week away from arriving.
Still, Ukrainian forces are expected to burn through the new U.S. aid within a few weeks, and it’s unlikely the Biden administration will be able to send much more unless Republicans in Congress agree to a $60 billion emergency spending plan to send additional weapons to send to Ukraine. and strengthen arms production in the United States.
At the meeting, held at Ramstein Air Base, a US military hub in Germany, Mr Austin said: “The struggle in Ukraine remains one of the great causes of our time.”
“The Ukrainian people do not have a day to lose, and neither do we,” he added. “So we continue to develop creative, adaptable and sustainable ways to support Ukraine’s defenders.”
But Ukrainian soldiers are already running low on ammunition: a shortage of artillery shells forced a retreat to the eastern city of Avdiivka, and air defense missiles have been rationed around the highest priority cities and infrastructure to protect against Russian attacks.
On Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine said: “The needs are obvious: patriots, ATACMS, F-16s and of course artillery,” ticking off a list of missiles, fighter jets and grenades. At a meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kiev with Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, Mr. Zelensky urged allies to quickly supply them.
The $60 billion aid package for Ukraine has been blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives. In his own summary of Monday’s meeting in Kiev, Mr. Graham predicted that at least some U.S. aid to Ukraine would come in the form of loans, as former President Donald J. Trump has pushed for, rather than outright donations.
“I know Americans want to help our friends and allies, but I also believe we should consider our economic situation as we help others,” Mr. Graham said. said in a statement on Monday. He said he would also demand that the Biden administration send longer-range missiles to Ukraine, which would allow its forces to attack Russian territory, and that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets be accelerated.
Uncertainty about U.S. involvement in Ukraine has largely pushed European allies to try to fill the void, but production of key weapons systems and artillery ammunition has struggled to ramp up and cannot keep up with demand.
Some European leaders – especially in the Baltic states, Scandinavian countries and those bordering Ukraine – have also raised alarm over the specter of a Russian invasion of NATO territory if Russia were to win the current conflict.
Mr. Austin reiterated these concerns ahead of the meeting in Ramstein, where he sat next to Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. It was Mr. Austin’s first in-person return to the group since two hospitalizations this year, including a days-long stint in January related to complications from a prostate cancer operation that he failed to disclose to the White House, prompting criticism.
“Let’s not kid ourselves: Putin won’t stop at Ukraine,” Austin said. “But as President Biden has said, Ukraine can stop Putin if we support Ukraine and provide the weapons the country needs to defend itself.”
Erik Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington.