By BRUSSELS. Jan 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is convinced that a sovereign and secure Ukraine is crucial for global security, and therefore he called on the participants of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the so-called Ramstein group, to continue to provide Ukraine with even more assistance.
On Tuesday, opening the virtual meeting, he said: “So let’s be clear. Our support for Ukraine’s struggle against tyranny makes all of our countries more secure. If we lose our nerve, if we flinch, if we fail to deter other would-be aggressors, we will only invite even more bloodshed and chaos. So a sovereign and secure Ukraine is critical to global security. And we must not waver in our support for Ukraine.”
The U.S. Secretary of Defense stated that the battle waged by Ukraine is “important for all our countries.” “Ukraine’s incredibly brave troops are continuing their battle against the Kremlin’s invaders across a vast frontline in Ukraine’s east and south, in bitter winter weather. Ukraine’s defenders continue to inflict significant losses on the Kremlin’s forces. Putin continues to sacrifice staggering numbers of Russian troops in his rash and reckless war of choice.
And Putin hopes that missiles and drones will demoralize the Ukrainian people, and break the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian military. So I urge this group to dig deep to provide Ukraine with more lifesaving ground-based air-defense systems and interceptors. And Ukraine has answered Putin’s cruelty with courage and defiance,” he detailed. Austin also noted that after almost two years of war, Ukraine’s people and troops stand strong against Russian aggression and occupation and Russia’s military has been “badly weakened and demoralized.” And Ukraine has taken back more than half of the sovereign territory grabbed by Russia since its unprovoked invasion,” he added.
The head of the U.S. Defense Department reminded Ramstein group’s participants about the recent $250 million U.S. aid package, which included 155-millimeter and 105-millimeter artillery ammunition and medical equipment.
In addition, Austin reiterated that they have seen “no credible evidence of the misuse or illicit diversion of American equipment provided to Ukraine.”
He also noted the contributions of other group’s members. “We must continue to focus both on Ukraine’s immediate battlefield needs, and on helping Ukraine to strengthen, modernize… That’s why the United States hosted the Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference in Washington last month, with the goal of ushering in a new era of cooperation to meet Ukraine’s long-term security needs,” the Secretary explained.
