Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Visits Ukraine to ‘Reassure’ Leaders U.S. Support Will ContinueKristina Wong 21 Nov 2023
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine for the third time on Monday, to reassure its leaders that the United States “will continue to support Ukraine,” despite waning American public support for doing so.
“I wanted to reassure the leadership that the United States of America will continue to support Ukraine. And so, you know, we talked about the things that we’re going to continue to do to make sure that they have what they need to be successful on the battlefield,” Austin said at a press conference with reporters.
However, as a sign that the American public has moved on from focusing on the war in Ukraine, the first question from American media traveling with Austin was about Israel and civilian casualties.
“Have you seen any cause for concern, how the Israelis are using the American-provided weapons? And have you voiced any concerns to your counterparts in Israel?” the reporter from CBS News asked.
Austin responded that the U.S.’s expectation is that the Israelis conduct their operations in accordance with the law of armed conflict, and that U.S. officials continue to emphasize that the Israelis account for civilians “in the battlespace” and “do everything that they can to get humanitarian assistance in to the people in Gaza.”
Austin also said he believes the Ukrainian Army has the means to be successful in fighting in the wintertime, despite Congress not approving an extra $23 billion the Biden administration has requested from Congress that was supposed to get the army through December.
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/21/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-visits-ukraine-to-reassure-leaders-u-s-support-will-continue/
