The U.S. government has provided Ukraine with military aid worth over $64 billion since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Oct. 21 at a joint press briefing with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The Pentagon chief arrived in Kyiv earlier in the day in a surprise visit to discuss further support for Ukraine as the uncertain U.S. presidential election looms.
During his visit, Austin also announced a new $400 million military assistance package for Ukraine, which included HIMARS air defense systems and 155 mm artillery ammunition, among other weapons and training equipment.
"This is especially important before the onset of winter, as Russia has not given up its intentions to plunge Ukraine into cold and darkness. Your unwavering support is not just a gesture of friendship. It's a powerful symbol of the shared values that bind our nations together," Umerov said at an event attended by a Kyiv Independent journalist.
Umerov mentioned that Ukraine has invested more than $4 billion in its defense production and urged international partners to invest further, recalling the recent successes of Ukrainian specialists in drone manufacturing.
"Our drones have become a real threat to the enemy. They can hit targets thousands of kilometers away and have already destroyed more than 200 military facilities in Russia. Ukraine's defense production potential might approach $20 billion," the minister said.
Umerov also highlighted Austin's role in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, also known as a Ramstein-format meeting.
"You have played a major role in bringing the free world together and coordinating the cooperation of more than 50 democracies to confront the threat posed by tyranny, to fight what seems now a coalition of dictatorships," Umerov added.
Austin, in his turn, said that every time he is back at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where the group was forged, he finds it "moving to look around that long table and to see in human form the global indignation over (Vladimir) Putin's crimes."
The U.S. Defense Secretary also mentioned that, as a percentage of GDP, a "dozen U.S. allies and partners" now provide more security assistance to Ukraine than the U.S. does. The group members have provided over $1 billion in direct security assistance to Ukraine in total, he added.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group is the U.S.-led group consisting of over 50 countries, including all 32 NATO members, that convenes at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The last Ramstein meeting on Sept. 6 was the group's 24th gathering since its establishment in April 2022.
The next meeting will be conducted in a virtual setting in November.
Dinara Khalilova
