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Military assistance for Ukraine to continue, pledges US defense chief

According to Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Lloyd Austin spoke with Alexey Reznikov "to reiterate the unwavering U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine's ability to counter Russia's aggression"

WASHINGTON, October 21./TASS/. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin assured his Ukrainian counterpart Alexey Reznikov on Friday that Washington and the West in general would continue military assistance to Kiev, says a release from Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder following a phone call of the US and Ukrainian top brass.

According to Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Austin spoke with Reznikov "to reiterate the unwavering U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine's ability to counter Russia's aggression".

Besides, "Secretary Austin underscored the international community's continued support in building Ukraine's enduring strength and safeguarding Ukraine's ability to defend itself in the future, as demonstrated by the security assistance commitments made by allies and partners at the most recent Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on October 12," said the release from the press secretary. "The two leaders pledged to remain in close contact," it added.

Also on Friday, Austin had a telephone conversation with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that, in response to a request from the Donbass republics, he made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. In response, the West started introducing sweeping sanctions against Russia and shipping weapons and military vehicles to Kiev already worth tens of billions of dollars at this point. A number of Western political figures acknowledged that this is effectively an economic war against Russia. On March 16, Putin stated that the Western sanctions policy against Moscow has all the hallmarks of aggression, adding that a policy of deterring Russia is the long-term strategy of the West.

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