All news

West intends to send as many munitions to Ukraine as possible soon — US defense secretary

Lloyd Austin also announced the intention of Western countries to train the Ukrainian military to use less artillery shells in battle

BRUSSELS, February 15. /TASS/. Western countries have made the decision to provide Ukraine with as many munitions as possible within a short timeframe, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.

At a press conference in Brussels following a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the official was asked to comment on NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s remark, who said that Ukraine is using munitions faster than all NATO allies can supply.

"In terms of munitions, it has been a tough fight throughout, and Ukraine has been at this for a year. And so they have used a lot of artillery ammunition. We're going to do everything we can working with our international partners to ensure that we give them as much ammunition as quickly as possible, and that we will do everything we can to sustain our efforts there as well," Austin replied.

The US secretary of defense went on to say that Ukrainian servicemen undergo training in various European countries. In his opinion, the training will allow the armed forces of Ukraine to reduce the number of munitions they have to use in combat.

"But that's left to be seen. So we're going to do everything we can to make sure that they have what they need to be successful. And that's what we continue to emphasize here in the Ukraine defense contact group. And we think the training will pay additional dividends as well," Austin added.