US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that his country is doing “everything it can” to help Ukraine on the battlefield, following Washington’s refusal to provide kyiv with fighters.
“We are doing everything we can to give Ukraine the capabilities they need to be effective on the battlefield,” Austin said today at a press conference in Manila, where he has been visiting since Tuesday.
US President Joe Biden said Monday that he will not provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, a fourth-generation resource that has become a priority task for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to combat the invasion. From Russia.
“We have given a strong push by sending the tanks,” Austin justified, referring to the US announcement this January that it will send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine and immediately begin training Ukrainian soldiers in a third country in their use and maintenance.
“That is our goal, as we push it together to support the Ukrainians,” he added.
These tanks, which according to Biden are the most effective in the world, will take months to reach Ukraine and will be accompanied by armored recovery vehicles called M88, which will serve to support them.
Ukraine is now negotiating with the US the supply of long-range missiles in order to hit the enemy rear and thwart Russia’s expected general offensive, which accuses NATO of seeking its strategic defeat with the new weapons for kyiv.
Biden will soon talk about weapons with the Ukrainian leader, after denying him for the moment the delivery of the F-16 fighters.
Still, Washington will shortly announce another package of $2.2 billion in military aid for kyiv, international media reported on Wednesday.
kyiv is reportedly to receive missiles with a 150-kilometer range (GLSDB), as well as equipment for Patriot anti-aircraft systems, high-precision ammunition and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
What Ukraine will not receive are ATACMS, missiles that can hit targets almost 300 kilometers away.
