US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit Georgia, Romania, Ukraine, and will also pay a visit to allies in Brussels, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said at a briefing on Tuesday, October 12.
"The minister and his team will be preparing for a trip to Europe next week. They will stop in Georgia, Ukraine and Romania, and he [Lloyd Austin] will conclude this important visit with allies and partners in Brussels, where a meeting of NATO defense ministers will be held," the spokesman for the military department said.
Kirby did not provide details of the Pentagon chief's visit to the former Soviet republics.
On August 31, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin, at a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, said that the United States would provide the country with a new package of military assistance worth $60 million, as well as sign a framework agreement on reforms necessary for Ukraine to become a member of NATO. The package will also include additional Javelin anti-tank systems and other weapons. Austin stressed that one of the goals of supporting Ukraine will be "deterring Russian aggression," while Moscow, in turn, "should stop supporting the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine," as well as "withdraw from Crimea."
On September 16, former US Ambassador to Kiev John Herbst said that Ukraine should not count on the military support of the United States and the European Union in the event of a full-scale aggression by Russia. Herbst noted that there is a possibility of full-scale aggression, but it is small.
Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass since 2014, who refused to recognize the results of the coup and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict. The issues of its settlement are being discussed in the Minsk and Normandy formats - with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany.
