U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin has made an unannounced go to to Kyiv
ByTARA COPP Related Press
November 20, 2023, 3:20 AM
A pair embrace at a viewpoint overlooking Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. (AP Photograph/Felipe Dana)
The Related Press
WASHINGTON — U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced go to to Kyiv on Monday in a high-profile push to maintain cash and weapons flowing to Ukraine whilst U.S. and worldwide sources are stretched by the brand new world dangers raised by the Israel-Hamas battle.
Austin, who traveled to Kyiv by practice from Poland, is scheduled to fulfill with senior Ukrainian officers and publicly press Ukraine’s pressing navy wants because it enters one other powerful winter of preventing.
That is Austin’s second journey to Kyiv, however he’s making it below far completely different circumstances. His first go to occurred in April 2022, simply two months after Russia’s large-scale invasion. On the time, Ukraine was driving a wave of world rage at Moscow’s invasion, and Austin launched a world effort that now sees 50 nations meet month-to-month to coordinate on what weapons, coaching and different help may very well be pushed to Kyiv.
However the battle in Gaza might pull consideration and sources from the Ukraine battle. The U.S. has labored feverishly for the reason that Oct. 7 assaults by Hamas on Israel, and the weeks of devastating bombardment on Gaza by Israel that has adopted, killing greater than 10,000 civilians, to maintain these assaults from turning right into a regional conflict.
The U.S. has already dedicated two provider strike teams, scores of fighter jets and hundreds of U.S. personnel to the Center East, and has needed to shift its pressure posture and conduct airstrikes in opposition to Iranian- backed militant teams who are actually hitting U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria regularly.
Thus far, Ukraine has obtained extra $44 billion from the U.S. and greater than $35 billion from different allies in weapons, starting from hundreds of thousands of bullets to air protection programs, superior European and U.S. battle tanks and, lastly, pledges for F-16 fighter jets.
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Comply with AP’s protection of the conflict in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
