U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine on the 27th (local time), never imagined that the world would go so swiftly and decisively to aid Ukraine.
According to the Washington Post (WP), Defense Minister Austin said this in remarks at the Defense Ministers’ Meeting for Ukraine Support held at the US Air Force Base in Ramstein, Germany that day, attended by defense ministers and officials from 40 countries.
The U.S. has announced plans to reopen the U.S. embassy in Kiiu, the Ukrainian capital, along with additional arms aid to Ukraine. Poland said it would provide tanks to Ukraine, and Germany agreed to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons, including self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
“We all support Ukraine,” said Defense Minister Austin, who recently visited Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“During my visit to Kiiu, I was amazed at the effectiveness of Ukrainian forces,” Austin said.
“The course of the war will be decided in the next two, three or four weeks,” said Mike Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Defense Ministers’ Meeting to Support Ukraine was attended by defense ministers from NATO and non-NATO countries. Israel and Qatar were not on the list, but delegates were seated at the table. Countries such as Kenya, Tunisia and Japan also attended the meeting and expressed their support for Ukraine, The Post reported.
The Pentagon has set up a military aid control center in Stuttgart, Germany to provide military supplies to Ukraine, a Pentagon official said on the 26th, CNN reported.
A US official said that the ‘EUCOM Ukraine Control Center (ECCU)’ was installed at the European US Command in Stuttgart, Germany and is operated by a two-star general of the US military.
He explained that ECCU has staff from 15 countries outside the United States and will manage a network of 40 countries attending the Ukraine-backed defense ministers’ meeting.
The ECCU will work closely with the International Donor Coordination Center (IDCC) in Stuttgart in the future, the official said.
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