Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said he’s asked international partners to “dig deep” for efforts to continue assisting Ukraine, including for more air defense capabilities, as the conflict nears its second winter.
Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs chairman, on Tuesday hosted the 15th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, bringing together defense leaders from more than 50 countries to discuss continued security assistance plans.
“Air defense will continue to be Ukraine’s greatest need, to protect its skies, its civilians and its cities as well as innocent people far away from the battlefield,” Austin told reporters during a press conference following the meeting. “So at today’s meeting, I urged allies and partners to dig deep and donate whatever air defense munitions they can as Ukraine heads into another winter of war.”
“Today I challenged my fellow [defense] ministers to once again look into their stockpiles of 155mm ammunition and key air defense systems and interceptors to ensure that we are all giving everything that we can to prepare Ukraine for the upcoming winter,” Austin added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday, citing Kyiv’s continued requirements for security assistance in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion, and is set to meet with President Biden and visit the Pentagon this week.
Milley also reiterated a focus on shoring up the international coalition’s weapons donations plans for Ukraine, as the conflict with Russia approaches a second winter season following the invasion last year and as Kyiv continues its counteroffensive operation.
“As we approach winter now, each nation today committed to continuing their support with a focus on the top three priorities of air defense, artillery and mech and armor,” Milley said. “As you get into the winter, the grounds will get muddy but then it’ll freeze. In the conversations I’ve had, there’s no intention whatsoever by the Ukrainians to stop fighting during the winter. They have the strategic initiative right now and they intend to continue to do that until their end state’s achieved.”
Austin noted on Tuesday the refurbished M1A1 Abrams tanks the U.S. is providing will be arriving in Ukraine “soon” and that collective training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters jets is also ramping up.
“[The Abrams] will add another formidable armor capability to join the Leopard [tanks] that are already on the battlefield,” Austin said. “[The F-16 training] is even more evidence of our long-term commitment to Ukraine’s right to defend itself.”
The Biden administration announced plans in late January to supply Ukraine with 31 General Dynamics Land Systems [GD]-built Abrams as part of a $400 million weapons aid package to be procured with Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds, and Army acquisition chief Doug Bush told reporters last month the U.S. government has accepted the initial group of refurbished tanks for Ukraine (Defense Daily, Aug. 11).
In late August, the Pentagon confirmed the U.S. would begin training Ukrainian pilots on Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] F-16s “within weeks,” part of the collective international training effort led by Denmark and the Netherlands (Defense Daily, Aug. 24).
Austin also detailed recent weapons aid announcements from international partners leading up to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group Meeting, to include the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway’s intent to donate F-16s to Kyiv.
“[This is] an important commitment to Ukraine’s long-term security,” Austin said.
Austin also noted Poland’s plans to provide Ukraine with “additional and much needed” mine-clearing equipment and more than 100 armored personnel carriers and tens of thousands of munitions, Sweden’s new $300 million military aid package with more ammunition and spare parts, Germany’s announcement yesterday of a $420 million weapons aid package and Denmark’s plan to provide Ukraine with $833 million worth of ammunition and armored capabilities.
“This coalition of like-minded countries continues to move heaven and earth to get Ukraine what it needs right now and over the long haul. We’ve also ramped up our industrial base to support the demand, and we won’t let up,” Austin said.