Remarks in Kyiv by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (As Delivered)

Well, good afternoon.

Thanks for welcoming me back to Kyiv, and to this proud academy.

Director Nadolenko, I'm very grateful for those generous words.

And speaking of outstanding diplomats: All Americans should be proud of our tireless and fearless ambassador, Bridget Brink. Ambassador, thanks for doing tremendous work.

[Applause]

Let me also thank my good friend, Minister Umerov. Rustem, thanks for that very kind introduction and for your tremendous service to your country.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honor to be here with you today.

I'd like to talk today about Ukraine's just war of self-defense, and the road ahead.

And I'd like to start by echoing the words of President Kennedy in his historic 1963 speech in Berlin.

There are some who say that they don't understand — or say they don't understand — what is at stake between the free world and an aggressive tyrant like Putin.

And I say to them: Let them come to Kyiv.

There are some who say that both sides are to blame for Putin's war of aggression.

Let them come to Kyiv.

There are some who blur the lines between aggressor and victim.

Let them come to Kyiv.

There are some who deny that the Kremlin targets Ukrainian civilians.

Let them come to Kyiv.

There are some who say that Ukraine isn't a real nation.

Let them come to Kyiv.

And finally, there are some who claim that Ukraine lacks the courage to prevail.

Let them come to Kyiv.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us never forget how this war began.

For years, Putin had harassed and assaulted the independent nation-state of Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Putin crossed the line into an all-out invasion. And the Kremlin started the largest war in Europe since World War II.

Now, Putin's war of choice poses fundamental questions to every government and every person who seeks a decent and secure world.

And so I ask today: Do rules matter?

Do rights matter?

Does sovereignty matter?

I believe that they do.

President Biden believes that they do.

And every free citizen of Ukraine believes that they do.

When the largest military in Europe becomes a force of aggression, the whole continent feels the shock.

When a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council tries to deny self-rule to more than 40 million people, the whole world feels the blow.

And when a dictator puts his imperial fantasies ahead of the rights of a free people, the whole international system feels the outrage.

And so that's why nations of goodwill from every corner of the planet have seen and have risen to Ukraine's defense. And that's why the United States and our allies and partners have proudly become the arsenal of Ukrainian democracy.

America's values call us to stand by a peaceful democracy fighting for its life. And America's security demands that we stand up to Putin's aggression.

America's security demands that we stand up to Putin's aggression.

Ukraine matters to U.S. security for four blunt reasons.

Putin's war threatens European security.

Putin's war challenges our NATO allies.

Putin's war attacks our shared values.

And Putin's war is a frontal assault on the rules-based international order that keeps us all safe.

Now, this invasion hasn't gone the way that the Kremlin planned. After 970 days of war, Putin has not achieved one single strategic objective.

Not one.

President Zelenskyy didn't flee. Kyiv didn't fall. And Ukraine didn't fold.

Instead, Russia has paid a staggering price for Putin's imperial folly.

Russian forces have suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties since February 2022. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russian losses in just the first year of Putin's war were more than Moscow's losses in all of its conflicts since World War II—combined.

And Russia has had to dig so deep into its Soviet stockpiles that it's attacking Ukraine with tanks from the time of World War II.

And Russia has squandered more than 200 billion dollars to sustain its invasion. And Russia has given up untold billions of dollars more in previously anticipated economic growth.

Now, Ukraine has suffered terribly at Putin's hands.

Since February 2022, according to the U.N., Russian forces have killed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians in verified civilian casualty incidents. And that includes more than 600 children.

The U.N. says that Putin's forces have bombed more than 250 Ukrainian schools and hospitals. And they've wrecked treasured sites of Ukrainian history, culture, and memory.

But the Kremlin's malice has not broken Ukraine's spirit. Ukraine stands unbowed — and strengthened.

You know, your fight began with soldiers setting tank ambushes on the streets of Kyiv, and with ordinary citizens making Molotov cocktails to defend their homes.

And it continues today with a battle-tested Ukrainian military and security forces — and a roaring Ukrainian defense industrial base.

Ukrainian factories are now pumping out some of the best UAVs in the world, and experienced Ukrainian air defenders are protecting their forces and their families. 

And your soldiers have shown incredible skill. Your frontline defenders have shown heroic resolve. And your citizens have shown stunning courage.

Ukraine's resistance is powered by the emergency workers who rush to the scene; and by the energy workers who race to fix the damage of the Kremlin's attacks; by the doctors who risk their own lives to save the wounded; by the nurses who provide comfort in hours of anguish; and by the clergy who tend to suffering souls; by the teachers who keep Ukraine's schools open; and by the parents and grandparents who fight every day to keep their children safe and give them a future of peace.

So your admirers around the world are studying the Ukrainian way of resistance. And we strongly encourage the reforms that Ukraine has launched to help realize its people's hopes of joining the European Union and NATO. 

Ukraine's defenders have brought inspiration to the world — and glory to Ukraine.

Slava Ukraini!

[Audience responds in Ukrainian]

Yet this struggle imposes obligations on us all. As President Biden told the U.N. General Assembly in September, "Our test is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger than the forces that are pulling us apart."

And make no mistake. The outcome of Ukraine's fight for freedom will help set the trajectory for global security in the 21st century.

Europe's future is on the line.

NATO's strength is on the line.

And America's security is on the line.

So the U.S. government has moved with urgency and purpose. And we've seen the huge progress that principled diplomacy can produce —the kind of diplomacy taught right here in this academy.

Since April 2022, I have been convening the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — the coalition of some 50 countries from around the world determined to help Ukraine fight Putin's aggression. The Contact Group has met 24 times now.

And I know that Minister Umerov and my other Ukrainian friends often refer to the Contact Group as "the Ramstein format"— after Ramstein Air Base, where the Contact Group was forged.

And each time that I'm back at Ramstein, I find it moving to look around that long table; to see in human form the global indignation over Putin's crimes; and to see determined defense leaders from around the world — from Argentina to Australia, and from Tunisia to Türkiye.

And it has worked.

America's allies and partners are sharing the burden of our shared security.

And that's the power of Ramstein.

You know, as a percentage of GDP, a dozen U.S. allies and partners now provide more security assistance to Ukraine than the United States does. And members of the Contact Group have provided more than [51] billion dollars in direct security assistance to Ukraine.

And I am proud to remind you that the United States is doing our part as well.

My country has committed more than 58 billion dollars in security assistance for Ukraine since February 2022. We've delivered two Patriot batteries and dozens of other air-defense systems. We've provided 24 HIMARS [rocket] systems, and thousands of armored vehicles and drones, and millions of rounds of artillery and other critical munitions.

Now, that is a very real financial commitment. But for anyone who thinks that American leadership is expensive — well, consider the price of American retreat.

In the face of aggression, the price of principle is always dwarfed by the cost of capitulation.

Our allies and partners know that. And I've been proud to watch the pro-Ukraine coalition dig deep.

So just consider Germany, host to Ramstein Air Base. Germany alone has provided or committed to military assistance for Ukraine valued at close to 31 billion dollars.

And through the Contact Group and its capability coalitions, Ukraine's friends are now forging an unprecedented, coordinated, 13-country drive to increase industrial production, to meet Ukraine's battlefield requirements, and to build up the force to deter and repel Russian aggression in the future.

And so, not since World War II has America systematically rallied so many countries to provide such a range of industrial and military assistance for a partner in need.

Now, there is no silver bullet. No single capability will turn the tide. No one system will end Putin's assault.

What matters is the way that Ukraine fights back. What matters is the combined effects of your military capabilities. And what matters is staying focused on what works.

Now, I believe that President Biden and Vice President Harris will have a proud place in history for rallying the world to defend Ukraine.

So will the allies and partners who seek a free Ukraine in a safer world.

But the proudest place of all will go to the Ukrainian people.

From President Zelenskyy on down, your leaders chose to fight back. And the people of Ukraine have met Russia's aggression and atrocities with magnificent defiance.

The spirit of Ukraine has inspired the world. And it has reminded us all to never take our freedom for granted.

So we refuse to blame Ukraine for the Kremlin's aggression.

We refuse to offer excuses for Putin's atrocities.

And we refuse to pretend that appeasement will stop an invasion.

We fully understand the moral chasm between aggressor and defender.

And we will not be gulled by the frauds and the falsehoods of the Kremlin's apologists.

And we will continue to defend the Ukrainian people's right to live in security and freedom.

The Kremlin has forced us into an age where Europe's largest military invades Europe's second-largest country. And we dare not believe, as the novelist George Eliot once wrote, that "the giant forces that used to shake the earth are forever laid to sleep."

America's goals remain clear, achievable, and principled. We seek a free and sovereign Ukraine that can defend itself from Russian aggression today — and deter Russian aggression in the future.

We seek a more secure Europe — and a reinforced commitment from nations of goodwill worldwide to an open international system of rules, rights, and responsibilities.

I know that the Kremlin's war is a nightmare from which the Ukrainian people are trying to awake. But we should all understand that Putin's assault is a warning. It is a sneak preview of a world built by tyrants and thugs — a chaotic, violent world carved into spheres of influence; a world where bullies trample their smaller neighbors; and a world where aggressors force free people to live in fear.

So we face a hinge in history.

We can continue to insist that cross-border invasion is the cardinal sin of world politics. And we can continue to stand firm against Putin's aggression.

Or we can let Putin have his way. And we can condemn our children and grandchildren to live in a far bloodier and more dangerous world.

So we must continue to face, to squarely face, the specter of an aggressive Russia — backed by other autocrats from North Korea and Iran.

If Ukraine falls under Putin's boot, all of Europe will fall under Putin's shadow.

Putin is not just hammering at the norms of the international system built at such a terrible cost by the Allies after World War II. He is shoving us all toward a world where right — where might makes right, and where empire trumps sovereignty. And he is determined to show that his brand of autocracy can outlast the world's democracies.

You see, Putin does not just think that his will is stronger. He thinks that his system is better.

But he could not be more wrong.

You know, few forces are more powerful than a democracy fighting for freedom.

As I have said: Peace is not self-executing. Order does not preserve itself. And the principles of freedom, and sovereignty, and human rights do not uphold themselves.

Yes, there is a price to be paid for human freedom. But it is dwarfed by the price that we would all pay for letting aggression go unchecked.

So President Biden has chosen the path of mutual responsibility and common security. And we have chosen to share the responsibility of ensuring that Ukraine remains sovereign and free.

And make no mistake. The United States does not seek war with Russia. And even as Putin makes profoundly reckless and dangerous threats about nuclear war, we will continue to behave with the responsibility that the world rightly demands of a nuclear-armed state.

So the United States will uphold our sworn NATO obligations.

The United States will defend every inch of NATO territory.

And the United States will get Ukraine what it needs to fight for its survival and security.

[Applause]

Ladies and gentlemen, let's be clear.

Ukraine does not belong to Putin.

Ukraine belongs to the Ukrainian people.

And Moscow will never prevail in Ukraine.

You know, Putin thought that Ukraine would surrender. He was wrong.

Putin thought that our democracies would cave. He was wrong.

And Putin thought that the free world would cower. He was wrong.

And Putin thinks that he will win. He is wrong.

And as I said in Halifax almost two years ago: free people will always refuse to replace an open order of rules and rights with one dictated by force and fear.

Now, Ukraine faces complex challenges in the days to come.

And as then-Vice President Biden said at this academy in 2014, "Democracy is not a destination. Democracy is a road traveled. And it's a hard damn road to travel."

But you have shown the world the moral power of a free people fighting to defend their country.

That force can bend the arc of history.

Ladies and gentlemen: never underestimate the strategic advantage of a just cause.

Never underestimate the resolve of free citizens.

And never underestimate the power of a democracy summoned to defend itself.

Ukraine has chosen the course of courage.

And so have we.

My friends, you walk a hard road.

But you do not walk it alone.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless all who fight to defend freedom.

[Standing ovation]