The US began a new round of dialogues to support Ukraine amid Russia's onslaught

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal in Washington to discuss U.S. support for the Ukrainian armed forces in the face of Russia's renewed offensive in the Donbas region, and maintained contacts with his European counterparts.

“There is no doubt that we will win this fight, but to end it sooner, we need more powerful and modern weapons to fight even more effectively,” said Shmigal, adding that that translates into a “continuous supply” of firepower in long-range artillery, multiple rocket launchers and weapons of all sizes.

Both leaders discussed this provision of defensive security assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the additional package announced by US President Joe Biden this Thursday.

For his part, Austin returned or called on Russia to “end its aggression against the country, stop its atrocities and suspend its military operations and withdraw its forces and equipment from Ukrainian territory without delay,” according to a statement from the Department of Defense.

On the other hand, Austin also held talks with the French Minister of Defense, Florence Parly, as well as with her German counterpart, Christine Lambrecht, and the head of Defense of the Czech Republic, Jana Cernochová.

“My intentions are to assure the United States that the Czech Republic is a reliable ally and that we will deliver on our promise of achieving two percent of GDP in defense spending by 2025,” Cernochová said, adding that they will seek to form a defence cooperation agreement to strengthen bilateral relations.

In this way, he stressed that the Czech Republic is interested “in deeper cooperation with regard to the modernization of the Czech Armed Forces”. “We seek to replace obsolete Soviet equipment with a modern military system and stop our dependence on Russia,” he said.

Austin stressed, as stated in a statement from the Department of Defense, that “today the Czech people hear the echoes of history.” “We remember the courage and determination that the Czech people showed in 1968, when, as part of Czechoslovakia, they faced invading tanks from Moscow,” he said.

MORE HELP

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday additional $800 million military aid to help Ukraine fight its strong but increasingly difficult battle against the Russian invasion.

The new military package includes much-needed heavy artillery, as well as 144,000 rounds of ammunition and drones for Ukrainian forces in the escalation of the battle for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. This package is in addition to the approximately $2.6 billion in military aid that Biden had previously approved.

The new military aid leg is expected to include 72 155mm howitzers, 72 tactical vehicles used to tow the howitzers to the battlefield and more than 121 Phoenix Ghost tactical drones, as well as field equipment and spare parts.

(With information from Europa Press)

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