US defence chief visits Ukraine to reassure Kyiv over US support
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US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned that halting aid to Kyiv is like letting Russia win the war.
PHOTO: AFP
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KYIV – US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin arrived in wartime Kyiv on Nov 20 in a gesture of “unwavering” support, as questions swirled over the sustainability of vital Western assistance as Ukraine’s war with Russia drags on.
Mr Austin, accompanied by the commander of the US European Command, was shown next to a train, shaking hands with the US ambassador to Ukraine in a photograph published by the embassy.
“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,” Mr Austin wrote on social media platform X.
US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said the visit signalled Washington’s “unwavering support to Ukraine in its fight for freedom”.
The trip to Kyiv – via train from Poland – is Mr Austin’s second since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It comes amid increasing division over Ukraine aid among US lawmakers.
A joint Ukraine-US military industry conference in Washington is due to take place on Dec 6 and 7.
That event is intended to boost Ukraine’s domestic arms production as its fight against a full-scale Russian invasion nears the two-year mark.
The US has provided tens of billions of dollars in security aid for Ukraine and repeatedly pledged to back Kyiv for “as long as it takes”.
But opposition from hardline Republican lawmakers has raised doubts about the future of American assistance.
Washington is the biggest donor of military assistance to Kyiv. A cut to American aid would be a major blow to Ukraine as it readies for the second winter of the war.
Mr Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged lawmakers during a hearing in October to sustain support for Ukraine, with the US defence chief saying that “without our support, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will be successful
But some Republican lawmakers oppose continued aid, and new support for Ukraine was left out of a temporary deal passed by Congress last week to avert a US government shutdown.
US assistance has not, however, been halted, and there is still previously authorised aid to draw on.
But deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said earlier in November that assistance packages “have been getting smaller because we have had to meter out our support for Ukraine”.
In addition to domestic US political opposition to continued aid, the devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas – and an accompanying spike in attacks on American forces in the Middle East – has drawn international attention away from Ukraine.
The US insists that it can provide assistance to both countries.
“On the issue of whether there is a competition or trade-off between US support for Ukraine’s defence of its country and Israel’s defence of its people, there is not,” a senior US defence official told reporters.
“There is some overlap, but where there is overlap in certain kinds of ammunition... there is no reduction in the provision of capabilities to Ukraine,” the official added.
The US has spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, quickly forging a coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded, and coordinating aid from dozens of countries.
Ukraine’s supporters have also provided training to Kyiv’s troops, while the US and other countries imposed tough sanctions
