Lloyd Austin’s words came after a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that was attended by defence ministers from more than 50 countries, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
‘I’m especially grateful to Poland’
Austin told reporters after the meeting: “I’m especially grateful to Poland for serving as a lynchpin of our security assistance efforts, as well as donating more than USD 1.7 billion in military equipment.”
He said the virtual get-together had focused on ways to provide long-term support for Ukraine’s forces, including through training and the mobilisation of industrial production.
Austin added: “Countries including the Czech Republic, Poland and the UK are working with their domestic industrial bases to find ways to help Ukraine even more quickly.”
More HIMARS for Ukraine
He announced that Washington would provide Ukraine with four more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), bringing the total so far to 16.
He praised Ukraine’s forces for their “excellent use” of these advanced rocket systems, striking Russia’s ammunition dumps, command posts and logistics networks, which he said will "bring dividends in the coming weeks.”
At the same time, Austin suggested that Ukraine would not receive the longer-range HIMARS rockets (ATACMS), but instead would continue to receive GMLRS rockets, which can strike targets 80 kilometres away.
In addition, he did not rule out that the United States would help train Ukrainian pilots on F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, although he wouldn’t be drawn on the details, the PAP news agency reported.
Wednesday was day 147 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, defense.gov