Ukraine urgently needs additional military assistance. This was stated by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a meeting of Ukraine’s Western allies (in the Rammstein format) at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He assured that the allies are ready to support Ukraine in the long term.
The head of the Pentagon recalled the words of US President Joe Biden that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a test for the whole world.
Lloyd Austin announced additional aid that the countries supporting Ukraine have promised to provide. We are talking, among other things, about tanks, ammunition, air defense systems – along with plans for their integration and training of Ukrainian military personnel. Austin stressed that he has no announcements about Western fighter jets that Kyiv has requested from its allies to counter Russian aggression.
The US Secretary of Defense noted that Washington now sees no signs that Russia is gathering aircraft for a major attack. At the same time, he said that the Russian side has a significant number of aircraft in its arsenal, so the Western allies emphasize the need to send Ukraine as many air defense systems as possible.
The Financial Times previously reported, citing two anonymous intelligence sources in an unnamed Western country, that Russia is stockpiling planes and helicopters near Ukraine’s borders and intends to use them for a future big offensive .
At a press conference following the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Lloyd Austin noted that he also discussed with colleagues “the issue of Ukraine’s accountability” so that allies can be sure of the correct use of military assistance.
In addition, Washington expects Ukraine to launch a counteroffensive in the spring.
On the eve of the meeting, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that in the next two months Berlin would transfer two more IRIS-T air defense installations to Kyiv. In total, Germany promised to transfer four such systems, of which one has already been in service with the Ukrainian military since October last year.
Source : Rus Azatutyun