U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, on his first overseas visit since prostate cancer surgery, said Tuesday that the U.S. "will not let Ukraine fail" while Congress continues to delay critical funding to help Ukraine, CNN reported.
Speaking in Germany at the 20th meeting of the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Austin said Ukraine's armed forces continue to "degrade the Kremlin's capabilities".
"Ukraine will not back down, and neither will the United States," Austin said, sitting next to Ukrainian Defence 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."
According to Austin, at least 315,000 Russian troops have been killed and wounded since February 2022, and Russia has "spent up to $211 billion to equip, deploy, maintain and sustain imperial aggression against Ukraine." Austin also said the war will cost Russia $1.3 trillion "in previously expected economic growth through 2026."
"Ukraine has sunk, destroyed or damaged about 20 medium and large Russian Navy ships," Austin said Tuesday. - Ukraine continues to shoot down Russian warplanes."
The future of additional aid in the US Congress remains unclear, the media emphasise. Last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson told Republican senators during their closed-door meeting that he intended to find a way forward for aid to Ukraine in the House of Representatives, which, according to Republican senators, means that aid to the country is "not dead yet" in Congress.
