Defense Secretary Austin visits Ukraine amid Russian gains and ahead of imminent US election

US Defense Secretary arrives in Kyiv on Monday morning as the question mark hangs over America’s weaponry to Ukraine amid the approaching presidential elections at home and a slow but steady Russian advance on the ground.

Austin has had an audience with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Kyiv to determine the kind of weapons Ukraine require and how the US can further assist Ukraine’s military in the coming year.

Following this meeting, as per X, Zelensky said that he talked about using mar auditing long-range striker or other Russian military asset.

The secretary’s visit was also designed to stage his ability to look at ‘the big picture’ of the US-Ukraine relationship since the beginning of the war two and half years ago, another defense official noted.

But it was not a victory lap by either side. The Ukrainians are in a “very tough” position against the Russians in the cold winter season, said the official.

This is despite the deep, weighty sanctions on Russia’s economy that the West has placed in retaliation for the invasion, the billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment that the US has sent to Ukraine, and the multinational coalitions that the Biden administration has quickly mobilized from day one of the war to assist Ukrainian forces check Russia’s military expansion.

Shelling was reported across the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the early hours of Monday, local time, a CNN producer said, as the country continues to be targeted daily, over 2.5 years into the Russian invasion. According to the city authorities, air defense systems have been deployed.

Austin, and the Biden administration more broadly, sees multinational coalitions as a key aspect of his legacy as defense secretary, particularly the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — an alliance of 57 countries and the European Union that Austin first convened two months into the war to coordinate immediate military aid to Ukraine.

“It’s been absolutely remarkable that Ukraine has been able to do what it’s done,” Austin told reporters traveling with him on Sunday night. That has of course been possible because we have backed them from the word go and have been able to garner the support of over fifty countries.

While speaking at the Kyiv Diplomatic Academy on Monday, Austin dismissed his critics who have argued that the US should not be spending so much money in Ukraine.

“To all those who believe that American leadership is costly — let them look at the cost of American absence,” he said. How absurd it is while in the face of aggression, success comes at such a tremendous cost next to the detriment of failure in surrender? That is why our allies and partners understand that. And I’ve been pleased to see the pro-Ukraine coalition go to the well.”

American leaders expect the coalitions to persist, but much of that may be up in the air depending on the unpredictable Donald Trump. Last month, the former president would not say whether he wants Ukraine to prevail in the war, and he has denigrated Zelensky as a salesman who “should never have allowed that war.”

Austin appeared to allude to that comment in his speech, as well, saying: ‘We have rejected calls to shift the burden of responsibility for the Kremlin’s aggression onto Ukraine. It is perfectly horrible to attempt and make excuses for Putin’s barbarities. And we will not pretend that submission will deter an attack.”

The senior defense official said the Pentagon is still operating as if the US support will remain and Austin said this today: “Every day we are creating long-term capacity to Ukraine.”

“No one here is a stranger to political instability in the United States or in the Ukraine for that instance,” noted the defense official.

US officials also rely on the thinking that the renewed bipartisan support for Ukraine will not change in Congress. But that, too, is far from inevitable — there has already been one major fight on Capitol Hill this year about approving additional funding for Ukraine, a dispute fueled by far-right Republicans opposed to Ukraine aid whose influence will only grow under a potential Trump administration.

A vague road map for Ukraine’s triumph

Austin got to the country on Monday, a country whose fight for existence was still a raging one. Zelensky has flatly refused to give any Ukrainian territory to the Russians and still insists on Ukraine’s NATO membership as the key to the victory.

The first point is an invitation to NATO, now,” Zelensky said last week, addressing the first point of his “victory plan” which he shared with the US, Europe and NATO.

Ironically, however, NATO will not be willing to embrace Ukraine in to its fraternity as long as the country is at war.

Ukraine has denied Putin ‘one single strategic outcome’ in the war Austin stated on Sunday 6NBC Evening News today. However, the secretary never painted the picture of the west’s vision about how Ukraine can achieve a decisive victory.

Russian forces have been advancing into Ukrainian space, outshoot the Ukrainians 3to-1 on the ground and remain ‘substantially’ larger and better equipped in terms of personnel and ammos a Senior NATO officer reported last week. At the same time, Iran delivered 3 shipments of ballistic missiles to Russia this year, and North Korea supplied 11,000 containers of ammunition and reportedly preparing to send forces to Ukraine to fight for Russia. China also remains a ‘key supporter’ of Russia’s aggression, the NATO official said.

Of course, the war has put a heavy toll on Russia, which lost more than 1,250 soldiers per day in September-the highest fatality rate since the start of the war, according to the official. However, Moscow is also assembling 30,000 new troops monthly and producing more than 300,000 munitions annually, which the official said the Kremlin can sustain for at least the next few years.

The defence official also stated that Ukraine has better technologies in its weaponry systems because of the support from the western powers hence a close battle. “As for the capabilities, Ukraine is at a much better position this year than the point they were a year ago,” the official added. The receipt of donations of ammunition is also ‘far more steady’ and ‘more predictable’, the official said.

However, Russia still has one qualitative dominant – a quantitative one: personnel and ammunition reserves. And the US is still not ready to let Ukraine sink supplied by it long-range missiles against targets deep in Russia, which Zelensky has called for.

Instead, Russia has been attacked by Ukraine using home-made long range drones to hit internal targets. Umerov, the defense minister of Ukraine said on Monday that through their drones they have targets two hundred military installations within Russia.

However, Austin stressed that he believes the US and its allies will march forward to the next year to support Ukraine to any incumbent powers.

Still, on Sunday night he said: “I do think allies and partners will continue to rise to the occasion.” “And we have put capital where thing are beginning to bear fruit in the near future, for more additional systems like NASAMS (surface-to-air missiles). Many of those investments were made a year and a half, two years ago and some of them will start to be realized here soon.”