US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in an interview with reporters in Poland on Monday (25/4) that he hopes to see Russia “weakened” so that it does not repeat what it has done in Ukraine in other countries.
“We want Ukraine to remain a sovereign country, a democratic country that can protect its sovereign territory,” said the retired four-star general.
“We want to see Russia become too weak to do what it did when it invaded Ukraine,” he said.
According to BBC correspondent James Landale, Austin’s comments about a weakened Russia are “unusually strong” for a US defense secretary.
“It’s one thing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression, it’s another thing to talk about undermining Russia’s capabilities,” Landale said.
Responding openly to Austin’s words, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of trying to “divide Russian society and destroy Russia from within”.
Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on Sunday (April 24th), making it the highest-profile visit by US officials to Ukraine since the invasion began more than two months ago.
The meeting, which lasted more than three hours between representatives of the US and Ukrainian governments, took place as Russia intensified its military action in the south and east of the country.
What else did he say?
The Pentagon chief assured that his country believes Ukraine can win the conflict with “the right team” and “appropriate support”.
It also announced that the United States will allocate an additional US$713 million (R$3.5 billion) for military aid to Ukraine and other European countries.
According to Austin, about $332 million of that amount will go to Kiev.
With this amount, the total security aid provided by the United States to Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion exceeds $3.7 billion.
Zelensky has been urging Western leaders for weeks to increase the flow of military equipment and promises that Ukrainian forces can outpace Russian forces if they acquire warplanes and other weapons.
Last week, the US confirmed that it is providing Ukrainian troops with artillery artillery and artillery radar for the first time.
Russia’s ambassador to Washington said his country sent a diplomatic note demanding that the United States cease arms supplies to Ukraine.
Image: EPA
Return of the diplomats
Blinken announced that some US diplomatic officials will begin returning to Ukraine from next week.
They are expected to initially settle in Lviv, in western Ukraine, while implementing a long-term plan to reopen the US embassy in the capital, Kiev.
President Joe Biden plans to appoint career diplomat Bridget Brink as Ukraine’s ambassador to Ukraine, which has been vacant for more than two years.
Blinken also defended the diplomatic strategy of the USA, claiming that the alliance of Western countries created by Biden is putting pressure on the Putin government.
“The strategy we have implemented, mass support for Ukraine, massive pressure on Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries participating in these efforts are yielding real results,” Blinken said.
“And when it comes to Russia’s war aims, we see Russia fail, Ukraine succeed. A sovereign and independent Ukraine will be on the scene for much longer than Vladimir Putin,” Blinken said.
Image: AFP
Analysis by BBC Defense Correspondent Jonathan Beale
President Biden has always made it clear that the United States will not directly intervene in the Ukraine war and will not send American troops to participate in the war. But the reality is that the US is getting more and more involved. And this was emphasized in the words of the Minister of Defense.
The United States has significantly increased its arms supplies to Ukraine in recent weeks. It is clear that Russia will send more despite its warnings.
Image: Reuters
Austin’s statements make it clear that the United States was not a bystander to this war. The US wants to see Russia defeated.
Moreover, they want Russia’s military machine to be reduced to a point where no other European allies can threaten in the future.
The fear shared by NATO allies is that any defeat in Ukraine will only spur Putin’s ambitions.
Austin has now made it clear that the United States has its own strategic objectives for this war, even if theoretically it disagrees.
The goal is to deter Putin and make Russia’s military no longer able to threaten other countries.
To some extent, this has already happened.
Military experts already believe that it will take years for Russia to recover from its military losses. It could also send a signal to another country that the US is increasingly concerned about: China.
source: Noticias
