War in Ukraine The head of the Pentagon assures Zelensky that the US will support Ukraine "for a long time"

The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, promised this Monday in kyiv to the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelesnki, that his support for the country at war will last “a long time.”

The United States has provided more than $40 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, although part of the Republican opposition is questioning the continuation of that assistance.

Austin visited the US embassy in kyiv on Monday and met with diplomats and Defense Department staff. He later met with the Ukrainian president.

“The message I bring to you today, Mr. President, is that America is with you and will stay with you for a long time,” Austin said. “What happens here in Ukraine matters not only to Ukraine, but to the rest of the world,” he added.

The trip to kyiv is the Pentagon chief’s second since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Washington is by far the largest donor of military aid to kyiv and a cut would be a blow to Ukraine, which is preparing for a second winter of war.

Zelensky called Austin’s visit “an important signal for Ukraine” and thanked Congress and the American people for their support. “We have his support,” he said during the meeting.

Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged US lawmakers in October to maintain support for Ukraine. According to Austin, without this support, Russian President Vladimir Putin “will succeed.”

But some Republican lawmakers oppose continuing the aid. Although American assistance has not stopped, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said this month that the packages “have been reduced” because the United States has had to dose support for Ukraine.

In addition to domestic opposition in the United States, the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the resulting increase in attacks on American forces in the Middle East have diverted international attention from Ukraine. The United States insists, however, that it can provide assistance to both countries.

“On the question of whether there is a competition or a trade-off between the United States’ support for Ukraine’s defense of its country and Israel’s defense of its people, there is not,” a senior US defense official said.

Washington is leading the effort to rally international support for Ukraine and quickly forged a coalition to back Kiev after the Russian offensive.

Austin’s visit comes after Kiev announced it had pushed back Russian forces several kilometers from the Dnieper River bank, which would be the first significant advance by Kiev forces months after a disappointing counteroffensive.

Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on opposite sides of this river in the Kherson region (southern) for more than a year, after Russia withdrew its troops from the western bank.

Ukrainian authorities said Monday that at least two people were killed in Russian bombings in a parking lot in Kherson.

And in Nikopol (southeast), artillery fire killed an 83-year-old woman and wounded a 53-year-old man, according to the same source.