US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Ukrainian counterpart Alexey Reznikov held talks on the situation on the borders of Ukraine, following which they came to an agreement on building up the country's defense potential within the framework of strategic defense agreements signed on August 31, 2021. This is stated in the final communique published on the Pentagon website on November 18.
Austin noted that the August agreements created the basis for strengthening the strategic defense partnership between the countries, and he looks forward to discussing how these agreements can be implemented.
"This is necessary in order to promote our common priority of countering Russian aggression and deepen our cooperation in such areas as security on the Black Sea, cyber defense and intelligence sharing. We are closely following the recent movements of the Russian military on your borders. And we have clearly expressed our concern about Russia's destabilizing activities and our desire for greater transparency," the head of the US Defense Ministry said.
The head of the Pentagon urged Reznikov to support the progress in reforms, which is facilitated by the support of the United States. He assured that consultations with Ukraine, allies and partners in the region on security measures will continue. In response, the Ukrainian Minister thanked his colleague for organizing his visit and highly appreciated "the help of the American people in countering Russian aggression." He added that Ukraine is determined to develop its partnership with the United States, especially in the field of countering "Russian hybrid attacks."
"We are well aware that Russia can resort to escalation at any time. We are ready to defend our country and the future of our children. This possible escalation will certainly have disastrous consequences for the whole of Europe. Whether this will take place depends largely on the unity and determination of the civilized world to stop the aggression," Reznikov said.
On October 29, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced the possibility of obtaining a new British Brimstone Sea Spear missile at the disposal of the armed forces of the Republic.
A week earlier, the Ukrainian military had already received Javelin anti-tank missile systems (ATGMs), ammunition for "NATO calibers" and medical kits from the United States. The total cost of the cargo is $60 million. This is the third such batch.
On November 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the West does not react in any way to Ukraine's use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Donbass. According to him, the use of aviation, even unmanned, is prohibited by the Minsk Agreements and subsequent agreements. The Russian leader also stressed that officials in Ukraine directly say that they used UAVs and will continue to use them.
