Pentagon: Ukraine has a difficult situation

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today (Tuesday) during his speech to more than 50 defense officials from Europe and around the world that “the United States will not allow Ukraine to fail”.

Austin, who was speaking at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, continued: “This coalition will not allow Ukraine to fail, and the free world will not allow Ukraine to fail.”

Austin has promised to continue the US support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia, while the US Congress continues to avoid appropriating funds to send more weapons to the Ukrainian front.

According to the Associated Press, the meeting comes a week after US defense officials managed to find $300 million to finance a new package of military aid to Ukraine and use it to pull weapons out of the Pentagon’s stockpiles. .

This was the first arms package to be sent to Kiev since December, despite the increasingly dire situation on the battlefield in Ukraine.

This funding allowed the Department of Defense to use the Presidential Withdrawal Authority (PDA) to remove weapons and equipment from Pentagon stockpiles and quickly ship them to Ukraine. These funds are then used to purchase replacement items to ensure the US military is ready for war and to protect the homeland.

The United States has insisted for the past three months that it cannot remove more weapons from its stockpile because it has run out of money to replenish stockpiles. Congress has been deadlocked for months over a new $95 billion bill that includes about $60 billion in aid to Ukraine.

Defense officials continue to warn that Ukraine is badly outgunned by Russia on the battlefield, citing constant reports of Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines being rationed or running out of ammunition.

Despite these conditions, Austin said in his statement today: “Ukraine soldiers are facing difficult conditions and a difficult battle.” Ukraine is under constant barrage of Russian missiles and their drones, but Ukraine will not back down and neither will the United States.”

Source: ISNA