Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Says US ‘Will Not Let Ukraine Fail’

(CNN) — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin insisted on Tuesday that the United States “will not allow Ukraine to fail” as Congress continues to delay the approval of major funding for aid to Ukraine.

Speaking in Germany during the 20th meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Austin said Ukraine’s military “continues to degrade the Kremlin’s capabilities.”

“Ukraine is not going to back down, and neither is the United States,” Austin said, sitting next to Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. “So our message today is clear: The United States will not allow Ukraine to fail. This coalition will not allow Ukraine to fail. And the free world will not allow Ukraine to fail.

The trip is Austin’s first official overseas trip since undergoing a prostate cancer procedure in December. He participated in virtually the last two contact groups after being hospitalized on January 1 for complications related to the same medical procedure.

Austin’s comments to the U.S. And comes amid dire warnings from allied officials that Ukraine is running out of ammunition. A senior US defense official told reporters on Friday that Ukraine was “vastly outgunned on the battlefield”.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attends the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group at Ramstein Air Base on March 19, 2024 in Ramstein-Meissenbach, Germany. Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images

CNN previously reported that Russia produces about three times more artillery than the United States and Europe will send to Ukraine, compared with an estimated 1.2 million from the United States and Europe, a senior US official said. European intelligence.

“Russia’s production is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I mean, huge, huge,” one European lawmaker told CNN. “We must not underestimate their willingness to sustain us with patience and resilience.”

Asked Friday how long Ukraine could continue its fight against Russia without further support from the United States, the official said it depends on several factors, including how Russia takes advantage of the situation.

“But I want to be clear,” the official said, “this is not a matter of years, but of weeks and months.”

Still, Austin pointed to a series of statistics that show Russia’s losses. Austin said at least 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since February 2022 and that Russia has “spent up to $211 billion to equip, deploy, maintain and sustain its imperial offensive against Ukraine.” Austin also claimed that the war would cost Russia an estimated $1.3 trillion in economic growth by 2026.

Ukrainian soldiers prepare their weapons during a military training exercise near the front line in the Donetsk region, on February 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Credit: ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

“Ukraine has sunk, destroyed or damaged approximately 20 medium to large Russian naval vessels,” Austin said Tuesday. “And Ukraine continues to shoot down Russian fighter jets.”

The future of supplemental aid in Congress is unclear. House Speaker Mike Johnson told Republican senators behind closed doors last week that he was committed to finding a way forward for aid to Ukraine in the House, a sign GOP senators interpreted as the reason that aid to the stricken country has not yet reached an impasse in Congress.

Sen. Markwen Mullin, R-Okla., told CNN that Johnson made it clear that he “understands the importance and urgency of this issue and is looking for a way forward.”

In the absence of a supplement, the Pentagon announced a $300 million aid package last week due to financial savings from other US military contracts. Austin called the package an “extraordinary measure” and said the United States and its allies “will work together to identify gaps, manage cross-cutting needs and help Ukraine become a formidable force of the future.”

But officials are adamant that the $300 million won’t last long in Ukraine. President Joe Biden said the package was “not enough,” and National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said it would supply Ukraine with ammunition for “probably two weeks.”

“Ukraine’s existence is at stake,” Austin said Tuesday. “And all our security is at stake. So we will stand united in resisting Putin’s victory campaign and keeping faith with the people of Ukraine.