U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Ukraine on Monday to meet with Ukrainian leaders and deliver a message of support to the war-torn people, stating that America stands solidly behind the Eastern European country in its conflict with Russia.
Austin slapped hands with U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on the platform following an 11-hour train journey from Poland to Ukraine. Brig. Gen. Kipling Kahler, the U.S. Defense attaché, was also there to welcome him. This is Secretary Austin’s second trip to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. He was here most recently in April 2022.
“I just arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian leaders,” Austin wrote on X. “I’m here today to deliver an important message – the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine in their fight for freedom against Russia’s aggression, both now and into the future.”
“The message that I bring you today, Mr. President, is that the United States of America is with you. We will remain with you for the long haul,” Austin told Zelensky. “We count on your support,” the Ukranian president told his American counterpart.
“During his visit, Secretary Austin will engage in high-level talks with Ukrainian leadership. The discussions will focus on further bolstering the strategic partnership between the United States and Ukraine, to include ensuring Ukraine’s armed forces have the battlefield capabilities they need for both the winter and to defend their country against future Russian threats,” the Defense Department said.
Austin’s visit to Ukraine coincides with the Pentagon’s ongoing urging of Congress to approve more funds for Ukraine’s military efforts.
Last month, President Joe Biden requested additional funding from Congress. Concerns that money for Ukraine would never be authorized were aroused by its exclusion from a stopgap budget package that Congress enacted last week, particularly in light of the fact that the Republican-led House supported a bill that included aid for Israel but not for Ukraine.
Even if American defense officials emphasize that Washington can help both partners at the same time, certain politicians in the country are giving funding to Israel priority.
In private, a few senior Ukrainian officials have expressed worry that military aid supplies would decrease, a reflection of a general discomfort about the amounts of support required to continue the battle against Russia.
More than $44 billion in armaments, including powerful European and American battle tanks, air defense systems, millions of ammunition, and promises of F-16 fighter planes, have been sent to Ukraine by the United States and other allies to far. From its own stockpiles, the Pentagon may deliver an additional $5 billion worth of weapons and equipment. To replace those equities, meanwhile, it only has funding of around $1 billion.
As Ukraine approaches the two-year milestone in its struggle against a full-scale Russian invasion, a joint Ukraine-US military industry meeting in Washington on December 6 and 7 aims to increase domestic arms manufacturing in the country.
“The Head of State (Zelensky) thanked Lachlan Murdoch for his visit and emphasized that it is a very important signal of support at the time when the world’s attention is blurred by other events,” the president’s office wrote on its website.
The oldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch is a well-known television personality with a Republican-leaning following in the United States. With Lachlan Murdoch’s appointment as News Corp’s single chairman and his continued role as Fox Corp’s chair and CEO, the succession debate within one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world has been temporarily resolved, the firms said in September.
