Brussels: United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has reaffirmed the US and NATO’s long-term commitment to a free and sovereign Ukraine.
“Like countries of goodwill around the world, our NATO allies continue to stand up for Ukraine’s sovereignty and self-defence,” Austin said while speaking at a press conference in Brussels on Friday, one day after a defence ministerial meeting that addressed Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia.
“And the United States and our allies and partners are determined to stand by Ukraine for the long haul, and we’ll stand by one another,” he added.
Two simultaneous objectives are key to providing Ukraine with the assistance it needs to counter Russian aggression, Austin said, with the first being focused on the present.
“We’re focused on providing Ukraine what it needs to be successful on (the) battlefield today, as it tries to defend its sovereign territory,” Austin said.
“It’s been very successful at that, and I would remind everybody that Ukraine has taken on the largest military in Europe; and for two and a half years, it has successfully defended its territory,” Austin continued, adding that Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv still stands, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “yet to achieve any of his strategic objectives”.
Beyond being focused on the present, Austin said the second objective of supporting Ukraine is making sure to supply the country with the resources necessary to both deter and defend against future aggression.
As an example of this, Austin spoke about several capability coalitions that have been established in support of Ukraine.
He stated that those coalitions include an air force coalition that has brought F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine; an artillery coalition that has brought long-term artillery and ammunition support to the country; an information technology coalition that helps make sure Ukraine has what it needs to function and be effective in the information domain, and others.
“These coalitions are designed to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to deter aggression and defend itself going forward,” Austin said.
“And I have to applaud the work of our allies and partners who are leading some of these coalitions … rallying support for Ukraine … and digging deep to provide them with what we think they’ll need going forward,” he added.
When asked whether he supports the victory plan that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced to his country’s parliament on Wednesday, Austin said that — while it’s not his place to evaluate or endorse such a plan publicly — the US and allies are going to continue to do all they can to provide the security necessary to support Zelensky as he tries to accomplish his objectives.
“We have been supporting him by providing security assistance in a major way for over two and a half years (and) we’re going to continue to do that,” Austin said.
Speaking about NATO in a broader sense beyond just the scope of Ukraine, Austin reiterated that the multinational organisation is galvanized around its Article Five commitment to come to the defence of all its member countries.
“The US commitment to Article Five remains ironclad, and we will defend the sovereignty and the territory of every member country of this alliance, whatever changes lie ahead,” Austin said.
“We will tackle them together,” he continued. “And that solidarity is the reason why NATO is the greatest defensive alliance in history.”
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