“The first step to victory is believing in it,” said US Defense Secretary Austin, who visited Kiev with Secretary of State Blinken. They promise new financial help. Meanwhile, Russia warns the United States against further arms deliveries.
According to US estimates, Ukraine can win the war against Russia. “They can win if they have the right equipment and the right support,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday. During a visit to Kiev on Sunday, Pentagon Chief and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a gradual return of US diplomats to Ukraine and more military aid. Meanwhile, Russia has warned the United States against arms deliveries to Kiev.
“We emphasize that it is unacceptable for the United States to supply weapons to Ukraine. We demand an end to this practice,” Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with TV channel Rossiya 24. Envoy to Washington expressing Russia’s concerns . Such arms shipments aggravated the situation and exacerbated the conflict.
“Russia has already failed”
“The first step to winning is believing you can win,” Austin said. Ukraine is convinced of this. Russia, on the other hand, must be further weakened. The country has already “lost a lot of military capabilities” and lost many soldiers as a result of the war, the minister added. “We want Russia to be weakened to the point where it is no longer capable of something like invading Ukraine.” And Blinken said: “As for Russia’s war aims, Russia has already failed and Ukraine has already succeeded.”
Austin and Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kiev on Sunday night. The two US ministers promised additional military aid of US$700 million (€650 million). About $300 million will be used to buy weapons for the Ukrainian armed forces. The rest goes to Ukraine’s regional allies, who are providing the country with aid and need to replenish their weapons stockpiles.
Return of US diplomats to Ukraine
In addition, US diplomats are expected to gradually return to Ukraine, a senior US State Department official said late on Monday. Diplomats were safely evacuated from Ukraine in the face of Russian invasion and worked from there.
Blinken said US President Joe Biden intends to name the current US ambassador to Slovakia, Bridget Brink, as the new ambassador to Kiev in the coming days. The post of US Ambassador to Kiev has been officially vacant since 2019.
Thanks for $3.4 Billion in Gun Aid So Far
Zelenskij thanked the Americans for their support for the weapons and at the same time called for tougher sanctions against Russia. “We discussed with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arms assistance, tougher sanctions policies against Russia, financial assistance to Ukraine and security guarantees,” Zelensky said on Monday. on its official Telegram channel. Zelenskiy said the $3.4 billion in arms aid so far has greatly helped Ukraine in its national defense.
At the same time, it is important to limit the potential for Russian attack through stricter sanctions. Zelensky referred to an action plan that had already been drawn up by Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, and Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Moscow. In addition, Zelensky emphasized how important it is for the Ukrainian economy that its products have better access to the US market.
For security reasons, Washington’s visit by the two US ministers was only confirmed after Austin and Blinken left Ukrainian sovereign territory. However, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich had previously confirmed the presence of government representatives in an interview on the YouTube video platform. During their stay in Kiev, Blinken and Austin met with Zelensky, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky for a roughly 90-minute conversation, CNN reported.
(APA/AFP/Reuters/dpa)