US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, flanked by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, speaks at the beginning of the meeting of the ‘Ukraine Defense Contact Group’ at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Austin vowed Tuesday that the US will continue to support Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, even as the US Congress remains stalled over funding to send additional weapons to the front.
During the session, leaders from other nations promised new aid for Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters that Germany will provide ammunition and armored and transport vehicles worth about $542 million . Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Austin said that “Ukraine’s survival is in danger” and that he leaves the meeting “fully determined to keep US security assistance and ammunition flowing. That’s a matter of survival and sovereignty for Ukraine, and it’s a matter of honor and security for America.”
US leaders had insisted for the past three months that they couldn’t take more weapons off the shelves because they have run out of money to replenish the stocks. Congress has been deadlocked for months over a new $95 billion supplemental bill that includes about $60 billion in aid for Ukraine. The command spent about $2 billion for training in the fiscal year that ended last Sept. 30, which was paid for through supplemental funding passed by Congress. The US has trained about 19,000 Ukrainian forces to date, the bulk of them at the Army bases in Germany. All together, the international coalition has trained more than 129,000 Ukrainians at more than 100 different locations around the world.
Defense officials continue to warn that Ukraine remains heavily outgunned by Russia on the battlefield, and note persistent reports of Ukrainian troops rationing or running out of ammunition on the front lines.
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