Defense secretary announces nearly $1 billion in Ukraine aid as he forcefully argues for global US leadership
CNN
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday announced a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine as he forcefully argued for US leadership around the world.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday announced a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine as he forcefully argued for US leadership around the world. “The troubles of our times will only grow worse without strong and steady American leadership,” Austin said in his fourth consecutive appearance at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California. The package, which includes more drones and ammunition for a critical rocket system, brings the total US security assistance to Ukraine to $62 billion since the war started nearly three years ago, a key component of keeping Kyiv in the fight. Russia has suffered more than 700,000 battlefield casualties since the war began, Austin said, and “squandered” more than $200 billion. The US has led a coalition of countries to arm and equip Ukraine’s military since February 2022, and Austin said it would be a mistake to abandon Kyiv. “This administration has made its choice. So has a bipartisan coalition in Congress,” said Austin. “The next administration must make its own choice.” Though the outgoing defense secretary did not mention Donald Trump by name, his arguments for American engagement internationally contrasted sharply with the president-elect’s promise of “America first.” Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the value of US aid to Ukraine, and Vice President-elect JD Vance has said in the past that Russia is not an existential threat to Europe.
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