(Bloomberg) — The United States announced additional military aid for Ukraine, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington wants Russian forces to weaken to prevent them from trying to repeat a war.
Speaking to the press in Kiev on Monday, during the U.S.'s highest-level visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country two months ago, Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged a total of $713 million in foreign military funding to Ukraine and 15 allied and associated countries. Some $322 million of this amount is destined for Ukraine.
With the war entering a third month despite several rounds of international sanctions and waves of weapons supplied, Austin was asked about the US objectives in the conflict. Washington wants Ukraine to remain a sovereign and democratic country, capable of protecting itself, and “we want to see Russia weakened to the point that it cannot do the kind of things it has done by invading Ukraine,” he said.
Russia “has already lost a lot of military capacity and many of its troops,” Austin said. “We want them not to be able to reproduce that ability very quickly.”
US officials traveled to Kiev on Sunday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky while sirens of air strikes were heard across the country. Russian attacks continued overnight in the besieged city of Mariupol, while Kharkiv and the entire Lugansk region came under artillery fire, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Austin and Blinken also said that US diplomats will return to the country starting next week, and will study the feasibility of reopening the embassy in Kiev in the coming weeks. The remaining $713 million in funding will be shared among NATO members and other nations that have provided Ukraine with critical military supplies since the war with Russia began, US officials said.
Ukraine 'succeeds. '
The visit comes as Russian forces are moving east and south after failing to take Kiev or overthrow Zelensky's government in the first weeks of the conflict initiated by President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has pressured the US and its allies to send more powerful weapons to repel Russia from the eastern Dombas region, where Russian troops are trying to gain full control of Mariupol.
“When it comes to Russia's war goals, Russia is failing, Ukraine is succeeding,” Blinken said. “We don't know how the rest of this war will play out, but we do know that a sovereign and independent Ukraine will be much longer on the scene than Vladimir Putin.”
Zelenski discussed with Blinken and Austin issues such as defense assistance, security guarantees, tightening sanctions on Russia and granting more financial aid, according to the president's office.
Austin said he and his NATO counterparts will address the question of what else can be done to provide “additional capacity” to Ukraine when they meet Tuesday at Rammstein airbase in Germany. “We will continue to do everything we can to ensure their success,” he said in a video provided by Zelenski's office.
President Joe Biden pledged last week an additional $1.3 billion in armament and economic aid, which is in addition to an $800 million package that includes heavy artillery for the first time, as well as additional helicopters. The latest aid shipments will include dozens of howitzers and attack drones.
Biden plans to formally appoint Bridget Brink, the current US ambassador to Slovakia, to be his next envoy to Ukraine, a US official said.
Original Note:
U.S. Aims to Weaken Russia in Ukraine, Austin Says in Kyiv Visit
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