Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Meets With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv

View Online Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Meets With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv Oct. 21, 2024 UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: Thank you very much, dear Secretary Austin. Your colleagues, thank you very much. General Cavoli, thank you very much for coming. And first of all, thank you, American people, President Biden and bipartisan support. We are very thankful for all the support from the United States that's been done for Ukraine from the very beginning of this war. Thank you so much, and thank you for the last hour meeting in Brussels on the platform of the Ukraine NATO Council. Thank you so much. That was an opportunity to make a direct dialog with the ministers of defense of our allies. And after that, I know that it was a very good meeting on the level of ministers, defense ministers of G7+. Thank you so much. According to our last dialog, I think very positive dialog with President Biden by phone, we discussed a lot of things. And by the way, thanks for the last package supporting our soldiers. And we discussed a lot of important things about victory plan, about preparing for winter with our air defense capabilities, how to strengthen all this. And we discussed also some details which will be, I think, sorry, out of — came about next packages which are crucial for us, especially now this challenging winter period. So — and we discuss all this with the president. I want to continue. Maybe we will have some results — no, I'm sure that we will have some important results. You're very welcome. Again, thank you. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN: Mr. President, it's great to see you again. Thanks for hosting us here in Kyiv. I'm honored to be back in Ukraine for my fourth visit as secretary of defense. And under your leadership, Ukraine has fought valiantly to defend its democracy, its sovereignty and its citizens. The United States understands the stakes here, Mr. President. The outcome of Putin's war of choice matters to us and to the entire world, and that's why I continue to convene the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. You saw the contact group first hand last month at Ramstein Air Base. We've moved heaven and earth to help Ukraine, and that inspiring coalition of more than 50 allies and partners continues to stand united to provide your country with the security assistance that Ukraine needs to prevail. Under President Biden's leadership, the United States remains committed to keeping up this support. And so, I'm pleased to announce today the commitment of a $400 million presidential drawdown package to provide your forces with additional munitions, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons. While the focus on Ukraine's immediate needs goes on, we're also committed to sustaining your support as pledged in the bilateral security agreement that you and President Biden signed in July. So, I look forward to a good discussion today, Mr. President, and to hearing your thoughts on how to further strengthen our strategic partnership. Thank you again, Mr. President, and it's great to be here with you. PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: Thank you.

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