The United States “will not let Ukraine fall”, assured the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, yesterday, while US aid for weapons remains blocked in the Washington Congress Austin spoke to journalists at the opening of a meeting of the contact group of Ukraine’s allies, responsible for coordinating military support for the country, at the American air base in Ramstein, Germany.
Today, the 20th meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, which has been the main coordinating organization for the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine, is taking place.
In his opening speech, Lloyd Austin said Russia paid a “staggering cost” for the war, repeating estimates that at least 315,000 Russian soldiers were killed or injured in the war, which cost up to $211 billion.
“Ukrainian troops face difficult conditions and tough fighting. And Ukraine’s civilians face a constant barrage of Russian missiles and Iranian drones,” Austin said. “But Ukraine will not back down.
And neither does the United States,” he added. Ramstein’s meeting comes a week after US defense officials managed to use $300 million in contractual savings to finance a new military aid package for Ukraine, removing weapons stored by the Pentagon.
It was the first tranche of weapons sent since December last year. The funds — which officials called a “one-time injection” — allowed the Defense Department to use presidential authority to remove weapons and equipment from Pentagon warehouses and send them to Ukraine.
The money is then used to purchase replacement parts to ensure war material is available for the United States Armed Forces, but for the past three months, American leaders have insisted that they cannot remove any more weapons because they no longer have funds for replacements.
Congress has been deadlocked for several months over a new $95 billion supplemental proposal that includes about $60 billion in aid to Ukraine.
US officials say there is bipartisan support for the aid package, but several Republicans are opposed and House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to bring the bill to a vote.
Defense officials continue to warn that Ukraine continues to be heavily outnumbered by Russia on the battlefield and note reports from Ukrainian troops about rationing or lack of ammunition on the front lines.
In February, Ukrainian troops withdrew from the eastern town of Avdiivka, where the outnumbered defenders resisted a Russian attack for four months.
Troops have complained of running low on ammunition as they face a constant barrage of airstrikes from Soviet-era unguided weapons equipped with a navigational guidance system, as well as explosive drones with motion sensors.