DOD’s Pacific Plans Aren’t Scaled Back to Finance Ukraine Aid, Say Austin and Milley
May 11, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie
A hearing of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee drew attention to perceived funding shortfalls in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, but Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley said plans to counter China have not been curtailed by the demands to defend NATO and supply weapons to Ukraine.
“Our leadership matters when it comes to Ukraine,” Austin said in his opening statement, citing $4.5 billion in defense assistance to Ukraine since January 2021.
Austin also cited what he referred as the “Contact Group on Ukrainian Security,” which united more than 40 nations for the first time April 26 at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to coordinate and deliver defense assistance for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
https://www.airforcemag.com/dods-pacific-plans-arent-scaled-back-to-finance-ukraine-aid-say-austin-and-milley/
