US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said his country will continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia despite the stalling of an additional aid package for Kiev in the US Congress .
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has so far blocked $60 billion in aid. Washington announced $300 million in aid to Ukraine last week, but Mr Austin said it was a saving from recent purchases.
This is the first military aid that Washington has sent to Kiev since December last year when the battlefield conditions in Ukraine became increasingly fierce. Obviously, this small amount of money is just a "drop in the ocean" compared to the real needs and will only last for a few weeks. However, Mr. Austin is determined: "The US will not let Ukraine lose."
“This alliance will not let Ukraine lose,” the US secretary of state told more than 50 defense leaders from Europe and elsewhere in the world gathered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on March 19. “And the free world will not let Ukraine lose.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attends the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany, March 19, 2024. Photo: Getty Images
“It is extremely important for us that the US Congress completes all necessary procedures as soon as possible and makes a final decision” on aid to Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement a day earlier (March 18).
U.S. officials have publicly expressed hope that lawmakers will act soon to pass the supplemental bill, but they are also struggling to find other ways to get assistance to Ukraine.
Defense officials continue to warn that Ukraine remains outgunned by Russia on the battlefield, noting persistent reports of Ukrainian troops having to ration or running out of ammunition on the front lines.
Just last month, on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict, Ukrainian soldiers were forced to withdraw from the eastern city of Avdiivka after four months of facing Russian attacks.
The Ukrainian military has complained of running low on ammunition while facing a steady barrage of airstrikes from glide bombs, massive Soviet-era weapons equipped with guided targeting systems that obliterate everything around them, as well as drones with motion-sensor explosions that can penetrate buildings and hunt for targets .
Minh Duc (According to Digital Journal, LBC)
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