U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Ukraine's allies today, Thursday, to "make efforts to secure more weapons and ammunition for it to fight the Russian offensive, particularly regarding air defense." He emphasized in a speech at a meeting of defense ministers from the U.S.-led contact group, consisting of about 50 countries providing military assistance to Ukraine, that "Kyiv needs support in the short and long term because the war is a marathon, not just a sprint against a quick enemy."
During the meeting held at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Austin noted that "the group has already provided Patriot, IRIS-T, and NASAMS air defense systems to protect Ukraine from Russian missile attacks." He requested that members of the contact group "continue to look deeply into supplying Ukraine with the air defense systems and ammunition it urgently needs to protect its citizens." He added, "We will also continue to adjust our assistance to meet the changing conditions on the ground according to the evolving needs of Ukrainian forces."
This meeting is the thirteenth of the contact group formed by Washington last year to coordinate Western assistance to Kyiv. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov is participating in the meeting and is expected to brief his counterparts on the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched by Kyiv this month to regain more territory from Russian forces. The offensive is expected to use hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles provided by the West.
