Russia’s war against Ukraine faces a difficult stage, with fears that Russian troops are preparing for a new major offensive and an urgent need for artillery by Ukrainian forces. In this scenario of tension, the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, appealed this Tuesday in Berlin for unity and not to give up support for Ukraine to resist “the imperial plans” of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“Ukraine’s fight for freedom matters to all of us. And ladies and gentlemen, let’s not fool ourselves, Putin will not stop in Ukraine,” Austin warned in his opening speech at the meeting of the so-called Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, at the US Ramstein air base, in Germany. ”But as President Biden has said, Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide it with the weapons it needs to defend itself. Ukraine’s survival is at stake and all of our security is at stake. So we will remain united to resist Putin’s campaign of conquest and we will continue to keep faith in the people of Ukraine,” he indicated.
Defense Ministers and senior military commanders from almost 50 countries met to discuss strengthening support and arms supplies to Ukraine. In this context, Germany announced new deliveries of ammunition, along with armored and transport vehicles. “We have agreed on an aid package worth almost 500 million euros,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced of a package that increases the aid provided by Germany this year to a total of more than 7 billion euros. “This includes 10,000 rounds of ammunition from the arsenals of the German Army,” he explained to journalists after the meeting.
Added to this German package is the work of the so-called capabilities coalition for anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense, which Norway has recently joined, now adding a total of 15 countries. “We want to work together to ensure that Ukraine can expand its air defense capabilities in the long term so that it can defend itself and also deter effectively going forward,” explained Pistorius, who will meet his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, on Thursday and Friday. In Berlin.
The war has not only taken its toll on Ukraine. As Austin recalled, the more than two years of war have cost Russia “at least 315,000 dead soldiers” and “it has squandered up to 211 billion dollars (about 195 billion euros) to equip, deploy, maintain and sustain its imperial aggression.” against Ukraine.” However, he noted that while Ukraine continues to stand up to Russia, “Ukrainian troops now face harsh conditions and heavy fighting, and Ukrainian civilians endure constant bombardment from Russian missiles and Iranian drones.” “Putin hoped to isolate Ukraine. Instead, he was left alone with Iran and North Korea,” he noted.
“But Ukraine will not back down and neither will the United States. So our message today is clear. The United States will not let Ukraine fail. “This coalition will not let Ukraine fail, and the free world will not let Ukraine fail,” he declared.
Unlike previous meetings, this time there is no question of addressing the specific deployment of certain weapons systems. The United States wants Germany and the European NATO states to provide more financial resources to boost weapons production in Europe. Something that his allies seem to have taken note of.
US aid
For its part, the US Government announced last week the sending of a new military aid package to Ukraine for $300 million in ammunition and spare parts at a time when the US Congress remains deadlocked over funding to send weapons. additional to the front. “This is an extraordinary measure to support Ukraine’s most pressing needs in air defense, artillery and anti-tank capabilities,” Lloyd acknowledged, explaining that this was possible “thanks to some unforeseen savings.”
For the US Secretary of Defense, it is ultimately about investments “in European security and global security.” “We will all be less safe if Putin gets his way. And we will all be less safe in a violent, lawless world where dictators can forcibly redraw borders, wipe countries off the map and rebuild their former empires.”
In case there was any doubt, Austin insisted again at the end of the meeting in Ramstein that the survival of Ukraine is in danger and the security of the United States is also in danger. “I leave here today fully determined to maintain US security assistance and the flow of ammunition, and that is a matter of survival and sovereignty for Ukraine, and it is a matter of honor and security for America. And make no mistake, Putin is watching, the world is watching, and history is watching.”
Countries like France, the United States and Germany have been working for days to make it clear to Putin that far from what he may think, and no matter how long the war drags on, Ukraine will continue to count on their military aid. “You have to know that your speculations that we will not be able to maintain support for Ukraine as long as necessary are wrong,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared at a conference in Berlin on Tuesday.
“We want a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, not Russian dictates. To achieve this, the Russian president must understand: we, our partners and allies, will support Ukraine as long as necessary,” he said about an objective within which the new aid package for a total of 50 billion euros is included. the European Union agreed in February and the recent announcement to buy ammunition for Ukraine on the world market.
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