The United States says the Russian invasion of Ukraine has offered a taste of possible global tyranny

By Phil Stewart

November 19 – The Russian invasion of Ukraine offered a preview of “a possible world of tyranny and unrest,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a speech to a security forum in Canada on Saturday.

Austin’s remarks were among the strongest to date on the importance to the international community of helping Kiev prevail after nearly nine months of war, speaking of what could be a turning point in the conflict.

After a string of battlefield defeats, Russia aims its missiles at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, potentially exposing millions of civilians to the winter chill. Moscow hopes to deplete Ukraine’s missile defenses and buy time to readjust its forces, Pentagon officials say.

Austin said Russia is breaking the laws of war. “These are not just mistakes. They are not exceptions to the rule. They are atrocities,” she said.

“Russian missile barrages have left innocent Ukrainians without heat, water and electricity. We have seen schools attacked. Children murdered. Bombed hospitals. Centers of Ukrainian history and culture reduced to rubble.

Moscow denies that its military is deliberately targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.

The United States and its allies have helped provide arms, intelligence and training to Ukrainian forces, but have not directly intervened in a war against Russia.