The Pentagon chief travelled to Ukraine on Monday to discuss further support from the US with Zelensky and made a statement about the military deliveries to Israel.
Lloyd Austin said, without specifying whether the system was ready for use:
THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system) is in place.
In Ukraine, Austin will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. An administration official told reporters that the purpose of the visit is to discuss Ukraine’s weapons needs and how the US will support the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the next year.
“The defence secretary’s visit will also be an opportunity for him to “take a step back” and look at the “arc” of the US-Ukraine relationship over the past two and a half years of war,” CNN quoted a senior Pentagon official, who remained anonymous, as saying. Given the upcoming change in the White House administration, Austin’s visit to Kyiv is likely to be his last as US defence secretary.
The US defence secretary’s trip comes amid the gradual strengthening of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Last time the Pentagon chief visited Kyiv in November last year and in April 2022.
This week, US President Joe Biden announced a $425 million military aid package to Kyiv in a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, which will include “additional air defence capabilities, air-to-ground munitions, armoured vehicles and critical munitions to meet Ukraine’s immediate needs.”
Zelensky then said that the US will allocate military aid packages worth between $500m and $750m to Kyiv every two to three weeks. The agreement, he said, is set for October-December.
