According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the number of countries providing Kiev with air defense equipment also continues to growWASHINGTON, March 15.
/tass/. Nine countries have committed to supply Ukraine with 150 Leopard tanks. This was announced on Wednesday by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the next online meeting of the contact group of Western countries on military assistance to Ukraine.
"The coalition of states supplying Leopard tanks to Ukraine free of charge continues to grow. Nine countries have already pledged to provide more than 150 Leopard tanks," he said.
The minister added that "the number of countries providing [Kiev] with air defense equipment also continues to grow." "Now we are at a crucial moment in the course of Ukraine's struggle for freedom. We must all demonstrate continued determination and unity. This means fulfilling our obligations on a full scale and in the shortest possible time," the head of the military department said. He also called for increasing the volume of ammunition and air defense systems sent to Ukraine, in particular, to "develop innovative solutions for [their] industrial production."
According to the Pentagon, since the beginning of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the United States has allocated more than $ 32 billion for military assistance to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian officials have repeatedly drawn attention to the danger of the spread of weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine in other regions. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov warned that the militarization of Ukraine by the West directly threatens European and global security.
