1 00:00:00,940 --> 00:00:03,660 look at you back in the pentagon . 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:08,100 All right , a couple of things to hit 3 00:00:08,100 --> 00:00:10,840 at the top here . If you just spare 4 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:11,840 with me 5 00:00:14,940 --> 00:00:16,607 today , all of us here in the 6 00:00:16,607 --> 00:00:18,640 department , I want to remember and 7 00:00:18,650 --> 00:00:21,950 honor four U . S . Marines who were 8 00:00:21,950 --> 00:00:25,020 tragically killed in a training flight 9 00:00:25,020 --> 00:00:28,070 crash south of Bodo in Norway Where 10 00:00:28,070 --> 00:00:30,590 they were supporting Exercise Cold 11 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,210 Response 2022 . Captain Matthew J . Tom 12 00:00:34,210 --> 00:00:36,099 koskovich of Fort Wayne indiana . 13 00:00:36,099 --> 00:00:38,670 Captain Ross , Reynolds of leo minster 14 00:00:38,670 --> 00:00:41,940 mass massachusetts , gunnery sergeant 15 00:00:42,030 --> 00:00:44,730 James W Speedy of Cambridge Ohio and 16 00:00:44,730 --> 00:00:48,020 corporal Jacob , m more of Caitlin 17 00:00:48,020 --> 00:00:50,230 Rosberg Kentucky . We're all assigned 18 00:00:50,230 --> 00:00:53,820 to Marine medium tiltrotor squadron to 19 00:00:53,820 --> 00:00:57,690 61 numerous NATO 20 00:00:57,690 --> 00:00:59,912 allies and partner nations have offered 21 00:00:59,912 --> 00:01:01,968 an outpouring of operational support 22 00:01:01,968 --> 00:01:04,079 during and following uh this terrible 23 00:01:04,079 --> 00:01:06,790 crash . We are grateful for their 24 00:01:06,790 --> 00:01:09,340 efforts and professional commitment to , 25 00:01:09,350 --> 00:01:11,080 to these long and enduring 26 00:01:11,090 --> 00:01:14,330 relationships . The Marine Corps did 27 00:01:14,330 --> 00:01:16,219 assist the Norwegian led recovery 28 00:01:16,219 --> 00:01:19,540 effort . The deceased will be reunited 29 00:01:19,550 --> 00:01:21,772 with their families through a dignified 30 00:01:21,772 --> 00:01:23,994 transfer in coming days . And of course 31 00:01:23,994 --> 00:01:25,994 the cause of the crash is currently 32 00:01:25,994 --> 00:01:28,217 under investigation . The secretary had 33 00:01:28,217 --> 00:01:30,217 a chance to speak directly with the 34 00:01:30,217 --> 00:01:29,940 commandant of the Marine Corps General 35 00:01:29,940 --> 00:01:33,200 burger this morning to express uh not 36 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,422 only his personal condolences , but the 37 00:01:35,422 --> 00:01:37,478 condolences of everybody here at the 38 00:01:37,478 --> 00:01:39,367 department and to pledge whatever 39 00:01:39,367 --> 00:01:42,760 support the Marine Corps and these Gold 40 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,130 Star families as well as their fellow 41 00:01:45,130 --> 00:01:47,130 marines might need going forward as 42 00:01:47,130 --> 00:01:49,560 they deal with this incredible um 43 00:01:49,570 --> 00:01:51,610 incredible loss . So again , our 44 00:01:51,620 --> 00:01:53,731 thoughts and prayers go out to all of 45 00:01:53,731 --> 00:01:55,620 those affected by this , but most 46 00:01:55,620 --> 00:01:58,040 particularly the family members of 47 00:01:58,050 --> 00:02:01,960 these four of these four aircrew um 48 00:02:02,540 --> 00:02:06,480 on uh travel , I can announce that the 49 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:08,480 secretary will be returning to NATO 50 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:10,591 headquarters in brussels this week to 51 00:02:10,591 --> 00:02:12,750 join President biden at his meetings 52 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,800 with NATO allies , G seven leaders uh 53 00:02:15,810 --> 00:02:17,740 in european union leaders as they 54 00:02:17,740 --> 00:02:19,573 discuss international efforts to 55 00:02:19,573 --> 00:02:21,796 continue to support Ukraine and imposed 56 00:02:21,796 --> 00:02:23,684 severe and unprecedented costs on 57 00:02:23,684 --> 00:02:25,796 Russia for its unprovoked and illegal 58 00:02:25,796 --> 00:02:28,230 invasion . Additionally , the secretary 59 00:02:28,230 --> 00:02:30,990 will be accompanying the president to 60 00:02:30,990 --> 00:02:33,268 Poland where the president , of course , 61 00:02:33,268 --> 00:02:35,490 as you know , is scheduled to also meet 62 00:02:35,490 --> 00:02:37,601 with his counterpart and other senior 63 00:02:37,601 --> 00:02:40,150 polish leaders . Finally , the deputy 64 00:02:40,150 --> 00:02:42,150 Secretary of Defense , Dr Hicks met 65 00:02:42,150 --> 00:02:44,560 today with the german state Secretary 66 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:46,727 for the Federal Ministry of Defense or 67 00:02:46,727 --> 00:02:50,670 counterpart , Mr Benedict Zimmer , they 68 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:52,624 reaffirmed the US german bilateral 69 00:02:52,624 --> 00:02:54,850 relationship . The Deputy Secretary 70 00:02:54,850 --> 00:02:57,017 thanked Secretary Zimmer for Germany's 71 00:02:57,017 --> 00:02:59,183 decision to provide defensive , lethal 72 00:02:59,183 --> 00:03:01,072 and non lethal aid to support the 73 00:03:01,072 --> 00:03:02,961 Ukrainian armed forces . She also 74 00:03:02,961 --> 00:03:05,072 thanks Secretary Zimmer for Germany's 75 00:03:05,072 --> 00:03:07,072 leadership in NATO as the framework 76 00:03:07,072 --> 00:03:08,794 nation for the battle group in 77 00:03:08,794 --> 00:03:10,906 Lithuania and for troop contributions 78 00:03:10,906 --> 00:03:10,840 to support the defense of NATO's 79 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:12,750 eastern flank . She congratulated 80 00:03:12,750 --> 00:03:14,528 secretaries . Emma on Germany's 81 00:03:14,528 --> 00:03:16,472 decision to increase their defense 82 00:03:16,472 --> 00:03:18,950 spending to 2% GDP meeting NATO 83 00:03:18,950 --> 00:03:20,620 obligations while also making 84 00:03:20,620 --> 00:03:22,787 significant investments into improving 85 00:03:22,787 --> 00:03:25,009 military readiness and capabilities and 86 00:03:25,009 --> 00:03:27,009 that includes Germany's decision to 87 00:03:27,009 --> 00:03:30,400 procure 35 f 35 next generation fighter 88 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,050 aircraft . She noted that 89 00:03:34,060 --> 00:03:36,171 Germany's investments will be will be 90 00:03:36,171 --> 00:03:37,893 significant towards increasing 91 00:03:37,893 --> 00:03:40,116 capabilities within the NATO alliance . 92 00:03:40,116 --> 00:03:42,282 Mr Zimmer and dr Hicks again expressed 93 00:03:42,282 --> 00:03:43,893 their commitment to continue 94 00:03:43,893 --> 00:03:45,949 collaboration on a range of issues , 95 00:03:45,949 --> 00:03:47,640 obviously to include NATO , 96 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:49,362 interoperability , procurement 97 00:03:49,362 --> 00:03:51,307 challenges and the shared security 98 00:03:51,307 --> 00:03:53,473 concerns across europe . And with that 99 00:03:53,473 --> 00:03:56,130 we'll take questions lead to john . Um , 100 00:03:56,140 --> 00:03:58,470 two things the president talked today 101 00:03:58,470 --> 00:04:01,600 about cyber threats from Russia . Um , 102 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:03,378 can you talk about anything the 103 00:04:03,378 --> 00:04:05,433 department is seeing in terms of any 104 00:04:05,433 --> 00:04:07,378 size , increased cyber activity by 105 00:04:07,378 --> 00:04:10,650 Russia and then secondarily , um , 106 00:04:10,660 --> 00:04:13,130 there's been some discussion about 107 00:04:13,130 --> 00:04:16,640 Russia wanting to pull troops from 108 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,030 places like Syria and other locations 109 00:04:19,030 --> 00:04:22,010 to go into Ukraine . What are you 110 00:04:22,010 --> 00:04:24,630 seeing sort of as of today in terms of 111 00:04:24,630 --> 00:04:26,741 any Russian troop movement at all . I 112 00:04:26,741 --> 00:04:30,350 don't have any specific cyber threats 113 00:04:30,350 --> 00:04:32,128 to speak to with respect to the 114 00:04:32,128 --> 00:04:34,590 department's infrastructure . Uh , as a 115 00:04:34,590 --> 00:04:37,470 result of the President's statement 116 00:04:37,470 --> 00:04:40,310 today , as you know , lead to our 117 00:04:40,310 --> 00:04:43,320 systems get attacked every day . Uh , 118 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,670 and so building cyber resilience and 119 00:04:45,670 --> 00:04:47,781 cyber defenses is something that's an 120 00:04:47,781 --> 00:04:49,948 ongoing process here . We're committed 121 00:04:49,948 --> 00:04:52,059 to it every single day . We remain so 122 00:04:52,059 --> 00:04:54,281 today , but there's nothing specific to 123 00:04:54,281 --> 00:04:56,448 report , I'm sorry , yet another one . 124 00:04:56,448 --> 00:04:59,860 Oh , foreign fighters . Um , uh , we 125 00:04:59,860 --> 00:05:03,290 have not seen an influx into Ukraine 126 00:05:03,370 --> 00:05:06,860 of foreign fighters hired 127 00:05:06,870 --> 00:05:10,430 or recruited by by Russia . But we 128 00:05:10,430 --> 00:05:12,570 continue to see an interest by Russia 129 00:05:12,570 --> 00:05:14,681 in doing just that , particularly out 130 00:05:14,681 --> 00:05:18,450 of the Middle East to to I mean , 131 00:05:18,450 --> 00:05:20,672 they've they've as much as announced as 132 00:05:20,672 --> 00:05:22,839 announced it in Syria , but we haven't 133 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:24,950 seen any influx . So you haven't seen 134 00:05:24,950 --> 00:05:26,728 any movement . And it's are you 135 00:05:26,728 --> 00:05:29,061 including also Wagner group ? We , well , 136 00:05:29,061 --> 00:05:31,230 the Wagner group is a a private 137 00:05:31,230 --> 00:05:33,560 military contractor for Russia . We 138 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:35,840 know that uh , that they have interest 139 00:05:35,850 --> 00:05:38,370 in uh , in increasing their their 140 00:05:38,370 --> 00:05:41,340 footprint in Ukraine . Um , but 141 00:05:41,350 --> 00:05:43,970 we don't necessarily count that as part 142 00:05:43,970 --> 00:05:46,248 of the foreign fighter effort . I mean , 143 00:05:46,248 --> 00:05:48,359 that they do hire people from foreign 144 00:05:48,359 --> 00:05:50,526 countries , but um , uh , but they are 145 00:05:50,526 --> 00:05:52,470 certainly interested in placing up 146 00:05:52,470 --> 00:05:54,748 their presence in Ukraine as well . Um , 147 00:05:54,748 --> 00:05:56,748 we know they're there , uh , and we 148 00:05:56,748 --> 00:05:58,859 know that they want to increase their 149 00:05:58,859 --> 00:06:00,748 presence there in Ukraine , but I 150 00:06:00,748 --> 00:06:02,748 thought that I was referring to the 151 00:06:02,748 --> 00:06:04,526 question about separate foreign 152 00:06:04,526 --> 00:06:04,220 fighters . And again , we know the 153 00:06:04,220 --> 00:06:06,331 Russians want to do that particularly 154 00:06:06,331 --> 00:06:08,387 out of the Middle East . Uh , but we 155 00:06:08,387 --> 00:06:11,620 haven't actually seen um , any flow to 156 00:06:11,620 --> 00:06:14,680 this at this point . Yes , sir . 157 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,080 Um Thank you . The secretary last week 158 00:06:19,090 --> 00:06:22,640 was visiting Slovakia to 159 00:06:22,650 --> 00:06:26,590 try to see if Uh , they could 160 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,330 give some S 300 to 161 00:06:29,340 --> 00:06:32,580 Ukraine . Um , did you make any 162 00:06:32,590 --> 00:06:36,410 progress into finding some missile 163 00:06:36,410 --> 00:06:38,840 defense for Ukraine in the last few 164 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:42,440 days ? Well , I want to Set one thing 165 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,607 straight , he wasn't going to Slovakia 166 00:06:44,607 --> 00:06:46,607 to press them to give S 300 missile 167 00:06:46,607 --> 00:06:48,770 systems . We went to Slovakia because 168 00:06:48,770 --> 00:06:50,770 they're a key NATO ally and they're 169 00:06:50,770 --> 00:06:53,200 obviously uh in a strategic location 170 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,144 with respect to what's going on to 171 00:06:55,144 --> 00:06:56,922 Ukraine . And they have a great 172 00:06:56,922 --> 00:06:59,380 interest in uh uh , in making sure that 173 00:06:59,390 --> 00:07:01,334 because they are on NATO's eastern 174 00:07:01,334 --> 00:07:03,557 flank , that that the United States and 175 00:07:03,557 --> 00:07:05,612 NATO writ large remains committed to 176 00:07:05,612 --> 00:07:07,834 protecting that eastern flank . That it 177 00:07:07,834 --> 00:07:09,890 was not , he wasn't , he wasn't , it 178 00:07:09,890 --> 00:07:11,612 wasn't a shopping trip for the 179 00:07:11,612 --> 00:07:13,501 secretary . You heard the defense 180 00:07:13,501 --> 00:07:15,723 minister after their meeting talk about 181 00:07:15,723 --> 00:07:17,834 their willingness to perhaps consider 182 00:07:17,834 --> 00:07:20,001 that . And you heard the Secretary say 183 00:07:20,001 --> 00:07:22,057 that that he'd be willing to stay in 184 00:07:22,057 --> 00:07:24,720 discussions with Slovakia about um , 185 00:07:24,790 --> 00:07:26,957 about what that could look like and if 186 00:07:26,957 --> 00:07:29,830 and when , if and whether they're there 187 00:07:29,830 --> 00:07:31,608 ought to be some sort of offset 188 00:07:31,608 --> 00:07:35,240 capability provided to um to Slovakia . 189 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:37,351 You saw even last week while we're on 190 00:07:37,351 --> 00:07:39,518 the trip , that Germany announced that 191 00:07:39,518 --> 00:07:41,407 they were going to uh provide one 192 00:07:41,407 --> 00:07:43,573 patriot battery to Slovakia . So these 193 00:07:43,573 --> 00:07:45,518 are ongoing discussions that we're 194 00:07:45,518 --> 00:07:47,684 having not only with that nation , but 195 00:07:47,684 --> 00:07:49,850 but but many others about how to 196 00:07:49,860 --> 00:07:52,550 provide Ukraine the kinds of defensive 197 00:07:52,550 --> 00:07:54,717 capabilities to include long range air 198 00:07:54,717 --> 00:07:56,717 defense , that we know that they're 199 00:07:56,717 --> 00:07:58,939 comfortable using their trained on that 200 00:07:58,939 --> 00:08:00,994 they that they already have in their 201 00:08:00,994 --> 00:08:02,883 inventory and whether that can be 202 00:08:02,883 --> 00:08:04,772 bolstered . So these are active , 203 00:08:04,772 --> 00:08:06,994 active consultations . I don't have any 204 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:09,840 um specific arrangements to speak to 205 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,110 today that that the United States is 206 00:08:13,110 --> 00:08:15,390 involved in . But we are obviously 207 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:16,900 actively involved in those 208 00:08:16,900 --> 00:08:19,067 conversations going forward , how fast 209 00:08:19,067 --> 00:08:21,067 do you think you can provide such a 210 00:08:21,067 --> 00:08:24,640 defense to Ukraine . You mean long 211 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:26,862 range . Yeah , well , again , we'd like 212 00:08:26,862 --> 00:08:29,110 to do it as fast as possible . Um but 213 00:08:29,110 --> 00:08:31,332 these are obviously sovereign decisions 214 00:08:31,332 --> 00:08:33,388 that other nations have to make . Uh 215 00:08:33,388 --> 00:08:35,499 these are systems that that they that 216 00:08:35,499 --> 00:08:37,610 they that they're employing for their 217 00:08:37,610 --> 00:08:39,666 own defense . Um and so they have to 218 00:08:39,666 --> 00:08:41,610 think through all the permutations 219 00:08:41,610 --> 00:08:43,721 about whether or not they can provide 220 00:08:43,721 --> 00:08:45,721 that and how fast they can . And if 221 00:08:45,721 --> 00:08:45,440 there's an offset , how fast can that 222 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:47,551 offset be provided ? I mean there's a 223 00:08:47,551 --> 00:08:49,773 lot that goes in here . Obviously we're 224 00:08:49,773 --> 00:08:52,650 all mindful of the clock . Um and that 225 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:55,150 Russia is intensifying their 226 00:08:55,150 --> 00:08:58,490 bombardment and long range fires on on 227 00:08:58,490 --> 00:09:00,157 cities and population centers 228 00:09:00,157 --> 00:09:02,046 throughout the country . So we're 229 00:09:02,046 --> 00:09:04,101 having these conversations literally 230 00:09:04,101 --> 00:09:06,268 actively every day at various levels , 231 00:09:06,268 --> 00:09:08,379 not just at the Secretary's level but 232 00:09:08,379 --> 00:09:10,546 at other levels here at the department 233 00:09:11,030 --> 00:09:13,197 in Saudi Arabia . Saudi Arabia is in a 234 00:09:13,197 --> 00:09:15,440 tough situation currently being as 235 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,820 their oil facilities are being targeted 236 00:09:17,830 --> 00:09:20,170 by missiles . We heard that the United 237 00:09:20,170 --> 00:09:23,080 States provided patriot batteries just 238 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,191 recently to do Saudi Arabia . Can you 239 00:09:25,191 --> 00:09:27,450 please walk us through the new 240 00:09:27,450 --> 00:09:29,617 deployment . Can you confirm this name 241 00:09:29,617 --> 00:09:31,728 of deployment ? No , I'm not going to 242 00:09:31,728 --> 00:09:33,950 do , I can't confirm that deployment as 243 00:09:33,950 --> 00:09:36,117 we've talked about many , many times . 244 00:09:36,117 --> 00:09:38,339 We're committed to helping Saudi Arabia 245 00:09:38,339 --> 00:09:40,561 defend itself against very real threats 246 00:09:40,561 --> 00:09:42,728 to their territory and to their people 247 00:09:42,728 --> 00:09:46,010 um uh coming out of out of Yemen . Um 248 00:09:46,020 --> 00:09:48,540 uh we're in constant discussions with 249 00:09:48,540 --> 00:09:50,762 the Saudis about this about this threat 250 00:09:50,762 --> 00:09:52,984 environment and always looking for ways 251 00:09:52,984 --> 00:09:54,929 to to continue to help them defend 252 00:09:54,929 --> 00:09:56,984 themselves . But I've got nothing to 253 00:09:56,984 --> 00:09:59,262 say with respect to that press reports . 254 00:09:59,262 --> 00:10:01,318 Yeah . Um A defense official earlier 255 00:10:01,318 --> 00:10:03,484 today talked about how Russia has been 256 00:10:03,484 --> 00:10:05,707 escalating the Air War and is launching 257 00:10:05,707 --> 00:10:08,130 as many as 300 sorties a day now in the 258 00:10:08,130 --> 00:10:11,530 last 24 hours . Is this a new phase in 259 00:10:11,540 --> 00:10:14,310 their invasion of Ukraine ? And um do 260 00:10:14,310 --> 00:10:16,254 you think that I guess my question 261 00:10:16,254 --> 00:10:18,421 would be , why do you think that there 262 00:10:18,421 --> 00:10:20,643 are additional sorties being launched ? 263 00:10:20,643 --> 00:10:22,754 Is it because their convoys are still 264 00:10:22,754 --> 00:10:24,810 basically stuck miles outside of the 265 00:10:24,810 --> 00:10:26,921 city ? Um What else are you seeing in 266 00:10:26,921 --> 00:10:29,143 the air to show that maybe just maybe a 267 00:10:29,143 --> 00:10:31,199 new phrase ? Yeah , I can't speak to 268 00:10:31,199 --> 00:10:34,060 the Russian air plan here . Um And I'm 269 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:37,670 I'm reluctant to get into a discussion 270 00:10:37,670 --> 00:10:39,781 about phasing here on on their part . 271 00:10:39,781 --> 00:10:42,360 But let me just back up and tell you 272 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,527 what what we think we're seeing here . 273 00:10:44,540 --> 00:10:48,530 We're on day 26 , the Russians 274 00:10:48,530 --> 00:10:51,710 have clearly not achieved 275 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:55,680 many or almost all of the objectives 276 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:57,680 that they that we believe they were 277 00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:00,210 setting out to to achieve clearly . And 278 00:11:00,210 --> 00:11:02,488 we said this from the beginning , Tara , 279 00:11:02,488 --> 00:11:04,154 that they wanted to get after 280 00:11:04,154 --> 00:11:06,266 population centers so that they could 281 00:11:06,266 --> 00:11:09,370 uh take control of key ports , key 282 00:11:09,370 --> 00:11:12,000 cities , key government institutions 283 00:11:12,010 --> 00:11:14,350 and supplant the the the the government 284 00:11:14,350 --> 00:11:16,406 of Ukraine with one more friendly to 285 00:11:16,406 --> 00:11:18,820 Russia and then basically over time 286 00:11:18,820 --> 00:11:21,330 erased the sovereignty of Ukraine . Um , 287 00:11:21,340 --> 00:11:23,451 when you look at what they've managed 288 00:11:23,451 --> 00:11:25,570 to do in 26 days , it's not that 289 00:11:25,570 --> 00:11:28,170 impressive . Uh , they , we believe 290 00:11:28,170 --> 00:11:30,392 that they're in control of Carson . But 291 00:11:30,392 --> 00:11:32,503 even in Carson over the course of the 292 00:11:32,503 --> 00:11:34,630 last 48 hours ago , the Ukrainians 293 00:11:34,630 --> 00:11:36,630 launched a counterattack to , to go 294 00:11:36,630 --> 00:11:39,080 after them in person . And we know they 295 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,440 moved up that coast towards mary opal . 296 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:43,990 So they we assess that there , you know , 297 00:11:43,990 --> 00:11:46,101 in control of a town called burdens , 298 00:11:46,101 --> 00:11:48,323 but Mario apple hasn't fallen . And the 299 00:11:48,323 --> 00:11:50,379 Ukrainians are fighting , as you all 300 00:11:50,379 --> 00:11:50,310 have seen very , very easily for 301 00:11:50,310 --> 00:11:52,532 yourself . How bravely they're fighting 302 00:11:52,532 --> 00:11:54,754 to defend that city , that very Keyport 303 00:11:54,754 --> 00:11:57,020 city . So , I think what we're seeing 304 00:11:57,020 --> 00:11:59,310 here is the Russians have been , uh , 305 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,431 flummoxed , they've been frustrated . 306 00:12:01,431 --> 00:12:03,580 They have failed to achieve a lot of 307 00:12:03,580 --> 00:12:06,570 their objectives on the ground and 308 00:12:07,340 --> 00:12:09,284 because they are essentially still 309 00:12:09,284 --> 00:12:12,040 stalled outside Kiev , outside Kharkiv , 310 00:12:12,050 --> 00:12:14,410 Outside chair , naive , um , and so 311 00:12:14,410 --> 00:12:16,950 many other places that they are 312 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,262 stepping up their , what we were in the 313 00:12:19,262 --> 00:12:21,484 pentagon here called long range fires , 314 00:12:21,484 --> 00:12:23,651 bombardment from afar , whether that's 315 00:12:23,651 --> 00:12:25,818 cruise missiles , ballistic missiles , 316 00:12:25,818 --> 00:12:27,873 artillery fire . They're lobbying an 317 00:12:27,873 --> 00:12:30,540 awful lot of hardware into these cities 318 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:32,660 to try to , to , to force their 319 00:12:32,660 --> 00:12:35,510 surrender . Um , and it's increased 320 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:37,700 over the last few days . Again , I'm 321 00:12:37,700 --> 00:12:39,867 not telling you anything that you guys 322 00:12:39,867 --> 00:12:41,922 haven't seen for yourselves . And so 323 00:12:41,922 --> 00:12:41,890 many brave reporters on the ground 324 00:12:41,890 --> 00:12:44,220 there . Um , and that's resulting in 325 00:12:44,230 --> 00:12:46,560 more civilian casualties more damage to 326 00:12:46,570 --> 00:12:49,300 residential areas , hospitals , schools 327 00:12:49,310 --> 00:12:52,660 um and and and and innocent victims . 328 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,000 Um uh at greater rates and greater and 329 00:12:56,010 --> 00:12:59,330 greater numbers . Um And it's it's too 330 00:12:59,330 --> 00:13:01,052 in many ways it's it's largely 331 00:13:01,052 --> 00:13:03,163 indiscriminate . Um and so what we're 332 00:13:03,163 --> 00:13:05,080 seeing again , we think is is the 333 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:06,969 Russians reacting to this lack of 334 00:13:06,969 --> 00:13:09,300 progress by stepping up these attacks 335 00:13:09,300 --> 00:13:12,580 to try to force forcing this violence 336 00:13:12,580 --> 00:13:14,820 on the Ukrainian people uh to to force 337 00:13:14,820 --> 00:13:17,740 the surrenders of of cities and towns 338 00:13:17,740 --> 00:13:19,796 that they have not been able to make 339 00:13:19,796 --> 00:13:22,200 any progress on the ground . Um So 340 00:13:22,210 --> 00:13:25,790 again I below to call it a phase a new 341 00:13:25,790 --> 00:13:28,050 phase . But clearly they have they have 342 00:13:28,050 --> 00:13:30,161 stepped up this particular tactic tom 343 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:33,040 along those lines of ports and long 344 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,096 range fires . What are you seeing in 345 00:13:35,096 --> 00:13:37,207 Odessa ? There have been some strikes 346 00:13:37,207 --> 00:13:39,318 from the sea . And also we understand 347 00:13:39,318 --> 00:13:41,429 there are about a dozen Russian ships 348 00:13:41,429 --> 00:13:43,540 in the North Black Sea . Can you give 349 00:13:43,540 --> 00:13:45,596 us a sense of the breakdown of those 350 00:13:45,596 --> 00:13:47,651 ships ? How many L . S . T . S . How 351 00:13:47,651 --> 00:13:49,818 many might be used for some sort of an 352 00:13:49,818 --> 00:13:51,929 amphibious landing . Yeah . Again , I 353 00:13:51,929 --> 00:13:53,984 I'm gonna be careful , we're not not 354 00:13:53,984 --> 00:13:55,873 not not to be a spokesman for the 355 00:13:55,873 --> 00:13:59,230 Russian navy but we have seen increased 356 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:01,296 naval activity in the Northern Black 357 00:14:01,296 --> 00:14:03,462 Sea . We have seen we have indications 358 00:14:03,462 --> 00:14:05,500 that that some of the bombardment 359 00:14:05,510 --> 00:14:07,690 around Odessa is coming from the sea 360 00:14:07,690 --> 00:14:09,746 from surface combatants . I couldn't 361 00:14:09,746 --> 00:14:11,968 tell you exactly what munitions and how 362 00:14:11,968 --> 00:14:14,134 many and what they're hitting . But we 363 00:14:14,134 --> 00:14:16,190 just see those indications that they 364 00:14:16,190 --> 00:14:18,246 have increased their activity in the 365 00:14:18,246 --> 00:14:17,870 northern black sea . That's not 366 00:14:17,870 --> 00:14:19,926 something that we have observed over 367 00:14:19,926 --> 00:14:21,814 the last few days . Clearly we're 368 00:14:21,814 --> 00:14:23,870 observing that now it's difficult to 369 00:14:23,870 --> 00:14:26,092 know tom what this indicates . Is it is 370 00:14:26,092 --> 00:14:28,630 it the prelude to an assault on Odesa ? 371 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:30,920 Is it a diversionary tactic to sort of 372 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:32,976 hold and fix Ukrainian troops in the 373 00:14:32,976 --> 00:14:35,031 south so that they can't come to the 374 00:14:35,031 --> 00:14:37,198 relief of , of their comrades in Mario 375 00:14:37,198 --> 00:14:39,570 po or in Kiev . It's difficult to know . 376 00:14:39,580 --> 00:14:41,636 All we can do is tell you what we're 377 00:14:41,636 --> 00:14:44,160 seeing and and we're seeing some of 378 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:46,327 that increased naval activity . As for 379 00:14:46,327 --> 00:14:48,382 the breakdown of ships ? Again , our 380 00:14:48,382 --> 00:14:51,010 knowledge is imperfect . Um , the best 381 00:14:51,010 --> 00:14:53,830 I could do is tell you that it's a mix 382 00:14:53,830 --> 00:14:57,580 of surface combatants , um , and um an 383 00:14:57,580 --> 00:14:59,691 amphibious ships , the kinds of ships 384 00:14:59,691 --> 00:15:01,880 that you would use to put naval 385 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:03,880 infantry or in our case the marines 386 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,350 ashore involved and the number of 387 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,560 people on these ships don't know , 388 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:10,850 couldn't begin to guess that ? I just 389 00:15:10,850 --> 00:15:13,650 don't know . Can you give us a little 390 00:15:13,650 --> 00:15:15,594 idea of how the Russians are using 391 00:15:15,594 --> 00:15:17,761 their aircraft , are they when Russian 392 00:15:17,761 --> 00:15:19,872 troops are pinned down ? Do they come 393 00:15:19,872 --> 00:15:22,039 in and provide close air support or is 394 00:15:22,039 --> 00:15:24,206 this sort of from a distance even from 395 00:15:24,206 --> 00:15:26,206 outside Ukrainian airspace and then 396 00:15:26,206 --> 00:15:28,261 also in Mariupol , if you could just 397 00:15:28,261 --> 00:15:30,372 give us an idea of where things stand 398 00:15:30,372 --> 00:15:32,539 at the moment between the Russians and 399 00:15:32,539 --> 00:15:34,706 the Ukrainians . Um I'm probably gonna 400 00:15:34,706 --> 00:15:36,928 forget both questions . So let me start 401 00:15:36,928 --> 00:15:36,750 with mary opal and remind me if I 402 00:15:36,750 --> 00:15:39,360 forget on the other one . But ah 403 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,150 yeah , the Ukrainians are very much 404 00:15:45,150 --> 00:15:47,460 defending Mario opal . The Russians 405 00:15:47,460 --> 00:15:50,420 have tried to encircle Mario opal uh 406 00:15:50,430 --> 00:15:53,490 surrounding it both from the north and 407 00:15:53,490 --> 00:15:56,900 from the south or up the coast . Um 408 00:15:56,910 --> 00:15:59,690 and the bombardment of Mario opal and 409 00:15:59,690 --> 00:16:01,746 again , I'm not telling you anything 410 00:16:01,746 --> 00:16:03,912 you guys haven't seen through your own 411 00:16:03,912 --> 00:16:05,912 sourcing um has got has intensified 412 00:16:05,912 --> 00:16:08,210 over recent days that they clearly want 413 00:16:08,210 --> 00:16:10,266 to take Mario opal . And if you just 414 00:16:10,266 --> 00:16:12,430 look at a map then you can understand 415 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:14,810 why that is , it's a Keyport city there 416 00:16:14,810 --> 00:16:18,790 in the sea of Azov . Um um It's a it's 417 00:16:18,790 --> 00:16:21,120 a link between the Don boss area and 418 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,170 Crimea . Um and it could also be used 419 00:16:24,170 --> 00:16:26,170 if they want to squeeze off eastern 420 00:16:26,170 --> 00:16:28,410 Ukraine uh and to try to prevent 421 00:16:28,420 --> 00:16:30,540 Ukrainian armed forces from uh from 422 00:16:30,540 --> 00:16:31,984 their own flexibility and 423 00:16:31,984 --> 00:16:34,040 maneuverability . You can see why uh 424 00:16:34,050 --> 00:16:36,217 mary opal might be of interest but the 425 00:16:36,217 --> 00:16:38,550 Ukrainians are are defending it bravely . 426 00:16:38,550 --> 00:16:40,606 Um and uh and have have been able to 427 00:16:40,606 --> 00:16:43,460 stymie the Russians efforts to to take 428 00:16:43,460 --> 00:16:46,520 it on the aviation questions , I didn't 429 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:50,390 forget . Um um Again , I want to be 430 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:52,810 careful not to speak for a Russian 431 00:16:52,810 --> 00:16:54,977 airplane that we don't own them and we 432 00:16:54,977 --> 00:16:57,088 don't have perfect visibility in it . 433 00:16:57,088 --> 00:16:59,254 Um I would say a couple of things . We 434 00:16:59,254 --> 00:17:01,254 still assess that the airspace over 435 00:17:01,254 --> 00:17:03,032 Ukraine is contested , that the 436 00:17:03,032 --> 00:17:02,840 Russians have not achieved air 437 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,260 superiority . Um , uh , 438 00:17:06,270 --> 00:17:09,610 they , they still have a significant 439 00:17:09,610 --> 00:17:11,666 surface to air missile coverage over 440 00:17:11,666 --> 00:17:14,070 over much of Ukraine . That is true . A 441 00:17:14,070 --> 00:17:16,550 lot of that uh , comes from systems 442 00:17:16,550 --> 00:17:19,670 that are outside the country . Um , and 443 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,200 uh , I would say the Ukrainians have 444 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,550 been extraordinarily effective at 445 00:17:25,550 --> 00:17:27,717 preventing the Russians from achieving 446 00:17:27,717 --> 00:17:30,830 air superiority by the agility and the 447 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,062 nimble way in which they are marshaling 448 00:17:33,062 --> 00:17:35,590 their own air defense resources . Um , 449 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:37,610 and that includes everything from 450 00:17:37,620 --> 00:17:39,920 aircraft , surface air missile systems , 451 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,850 both short range and long range . Um , 452 00:17:42,850 --> 00:17:44,961 and that's why to Sylvia's question , 453 00:17:44,961 --> 00:17:47,017 we're continuing to not only provide 454 00:17:47,017 --> 00:17:49,239 short range air defense systems to them 455 00:17:49,239 --> 00:17:51,128 ourselves , but to uh , work with 456 00:17:51,128 --> 00:17:53,239 allies and partners to provide longer 457 00:17:53,239 --> 00:17:55,294 range air defense systems . I really 458 00:17:55,294 --> 00:17:57,183 don't want to talk about how many 459 00:17:57,183 --> 00:17:59,239 flights either . Air force is flying 460 00:17:59,239 --> 00:18:00,906 again . We don't have perfect 461 00:18:00,906 --> 00:18:02,961 visibility and knowledge in that . I 462 00:18:02,961 --> 00:18:04,739 would tell you that that that's 463 00:18:04,739 --> 00:18:06,850 certainly not all of the air launched 464 00:18:06,850 --> 00:18:08,628 cruise missile strikes that the 465 00:18:08,628 --> 00:18:10,628 Russians are , are perpetrating are 466 00:18:10,628 --> 00:18:12,850 coming from inside Ukrainian airspace . 467 00:18:12,850 --> 00:18:15,017 They don't need to , they can they can 468 00:18:15,017 --> 00:18:17,730 launch air assaults from outside the 469 00:18:17,730 --> 00:18:20,110 country as well . And uh , and uh , and 470 00:18:20,110 --> 00:18:22,166 we've seen them , we've seen them do 471 00:18:22,166 --> 00:18:24,332 that . But again , the Ukrainians have 472 00:18:24,332 --> 00:18:27,620 worked Really creatively in the last 26 473 00:18:27,620 --> 00:18:30,290 days to prevent the Russians from from 474 00:18:30,300 --> 00:18:33,770 absolutely dominating the skies . Damon 475 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,000 of those 1100 Russian missiles . Had 476 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,910 the Ukrainians been able to intercept 477 00:18:42,010 --> 00:18:44,680 any of them ? Uh Yeah , first of all , 478 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,460 I I can't confirm the number and I 479 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,190 I think they have certainly um they 480 00:18:52,190 --> 00:18:54,412 have certainly I would just put it this 481 00:18:54,412 --> 00:18:54,340 way , David , they've used their air 482 00:18:54,340 --> 00:18:56,810 defense very effectively . But I 483 00:18:56,810 --> 00:18:59,040 couldn't give you an accurate count of 484 00:18:59,050 --> 00:19:01,800 exactly how many uh that they've been 485 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:05,770 able to to strike and prevent . I think 486 00:19:05,770 --> 00:19:07,992 I'm just gonna leave leave it at that . 487 00:19:08,340 --> 00:19:10,451 Yeah , we've been talking a lot about 488 00:19:10,451 --> 00:19:12,729 the resilience of the Ukrainian forces . 489 00:19:12,729 --> 00:19:15,270 Are we seeing them shift into having 490 00:19:15,270 --> 00:19:17,492 the upper hand here . And how are those 491 00:19:17,492 --> 00:19:19,603 weapons shipments helping ? And could 492 00:19:19,603 --> 00:19:21,826 this potentially turn the course of the 493 00:19:21,826 --> 00:19:24,900 war ? I I don't want to get predictive 494 00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:27,122 here about what's going to happen . And 495 00:19:27,122 --> 00:19:30,360 when I would just say that we remain 496 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:32,360 committed to helping Ukraine defend 497 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,416 itself , that means helping them get 498 00:19:34,416 --> 00:19:36,638 the systems that they're trained on and 499 00:19:36,638 --> 00:19:38,804 are competent in uh to defend not only 500 00:19:38,810 --> 00:19:41,990 uh there actual ground , but also the 501 00:19:41,990 --> 00:19:44,046 airspace over that ground . And they 502 00:19:44,046 --> 00:19:46,270 have done a very good job of that . Um 503 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,336 so we're gonna keep doing that as as 504 00:19:48,336 --> 00:19:50,350 much and as fast as we can . The 505 00:19:50,350 --> 00:19:52,294 president just signed another $800 506 00:19:52,294 --> 00:19:54,610 million dollar drawdown package that we 507 00:19:54,610 --> 00:19:57,130 are actively now filling out . And uh 508 00:19:57,130 --> 00:19:59,040 and hopefully shipment , well not 509 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:01,096 hopefully shipments will be arriving 510 00:20:01,096 --> 00:20:05,040 very , very soon . seems to be a 5050 , 511 00:20:05,050 --> 00:20:07,106 are they pulling ahead in terms of , 512 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,700 you know , any success or , or you know , 513 00:20:10,710 --> 00:20:12,932 again , I want to be careful not to get 514 00:20:12,932 --> 00:20:15,154 into a qualitative assessment here of , 515 00:20:15,154 --> 00:20:17,488 of of of who's winning on any given day . 516 00:20:17,488 --> 00:20:19,654 It depends on where you are . I mean , 517 00:20:19,654 --> 00:20:22,070 um , one of the brilliant things that 518 00:20:22,070 --> 00:20:25,900 Ukrainians have done is be thoughtful 519 00:20:25,900 --> 00:20:28,067 about where they're defending and with 520 00:20:28,067 --> 00:20:31,550 what and when to be there . Um , and , 521 00:20:31,550 --> 00:20:33,383 and that is what has stymied the 522 00:20:33,383 --> 00:20:35,606 Russian advance . I mean , we're at day 523 00:20:35,606 --> 00:20:39,290 26 , 26 and they're still well 524 00:20:39,290 --> 00:20:41,430 outside Kiev . They haven't taken 525 00:20:41,430 --> 00:20:43,800 Kharkiv , they haven't taken Chernyshev . 526 00:20:43,810 --> 00:20:46,540 Um , uh , they haven't taken mary opal . 527 00:20:46,550 --> 00:20:49,330 Um , and we're seeing them react to 528 00:20:49,330 --> 00:20:51,510 this frustration by ever more 529 00:20:51,510 --> 00:20:54,270 bombardment . And so , um , I really 530 00:20:54,270 --> 00:20:56,492 don't think it's a useful exercise on a 531 00:20:56,492 --> 00:20:58,603 daily basis to say , you know , who's 532 00:20:58,603 --> 00:21:00,826 up and who's down the point is that the 533 00:21:00,826 --> 00:21:04,010 Ukrainians are actively , uh , and very 534 00:21:04,010 --> 00:21:06,790 effectively defending their territory 535 00:21:06,790 --> 00:21:09,030 and and their and their people . Um , 536 00:21:09,030 --> 00:21:11,990 now that doesn't mean they can , they 537 00:21:11,990 --> 00:21:14,046 can defend against every single bomb 538 00:21:14,046 --> 00:21:15,990 and every single missile . Clearly 539 00:21:15,990 --> 00:21:18,212 you've seen the pictures for yourself , 540 00:21:18,212 --> 00:21:20,379 the damage that the Russians are doing 541 00:21:20,379 --> 00:21:22,657 across the eastern part of the country . 542 00:21:22,657 --> 00:21:24,768 It's significant and they are killing 543 00:21:24,768 --> 00:21:26,768 thousands of people in the , in the 544 00:21:26,768 --> 00:21:28,657 process of it , but the , but the 545 00:21:28,657 --> 00:21:30,823 Ukrainians with what they have there , 546 00:21:30,823 --> 00:21:32,546 They're being very smart about 547 00:21:32,546 --> 00:21:34,268 marshaling their resources and 548 00:21:34,268 --> 00:21:36,323 effectively defending and and also , 549 00:21:36,323 --> 00:21:38,157 you know , again , we need to be 550 00:21:38,157 --> 00:21:40,101 careful how much information we're 551 00:21:40,101 --> 00:21:39,960 putting out there to we , you know , we 552 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:42,000 have to be observant of of the 553 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,020 Ukrainians ability to uh to defend 554 00:21:45,020 --> 00:21:47,187 themselves and that . And that doesn't 555 00:21:47,187 --> 00:21:49,242 mean that we , the United States are 556 00:21:49,242 --> 00:21:51,298 are actively putting information out 557 00:21:51,298 --> 00:21:50,870 there that that could work to their 558 00:21:50,870 --> 00:21:53,560 detriment . Yeah , over here , Travis , 559 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:56,151 thanks john um it looks like the last 560 00:21:56,151 --> 00:21:58,850 time D O D publicly reported its covid 561 00:21:58,860 --> 00:22:01,690 case numbers was March 11th . I'm just 562 00:22:01,690 --> 00:22:03,801 wondering if you're going to continue 563 00:22:03,801 --> 00:22:06,023 reporting those numbers or if there was 564 00:22:06,023 --> 00:22:08,246 a decision to kind of ease back on that 565 00:22:08,246 --> 00:22:10,301 reporting . And secondly , could you 566 00:22:10,301 --> 00:22:10,220 just kind of characterize where the 567 00:22:10,220 --> 00:22:12,680 department is as far as the pandemic 568 00:22:12,690 --> 00:22:15,880 now and finally . Um do you have any 569 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:17,936 idea when we might go back to normal 570 00:22:17,936 --> 00:22:21,460 seating ? Ha ha ha . Um 571 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:24,151 we'll come all for the normal seating 572 00:22:24,151 --> 00:22:26,373 uh and we'll get you back there . We as 573 00:22:26,373 --> 00:22:28,429 you know , we've we've increased the 574 00:22:28,429 --> 00:22:31,160 numbers here just recently . Um We're 575 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,170 still in a heightened health condition 576 00:22:34,170 --> 00:22:37,680 here at the at the pentagon . So um so 577 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:39,902 we're still trying to observe a measure 578 00:22:39,902 --> 00:22:41,736 of social distancing here in the 579 00:22:41,736 --> 00:22:43,624 briefing room . But look , I love 580 00:22:43,624 --> 00:22:45,624 nothing better than the get back to 581 00:22:45,624 --> 00:22:48,010 back back to normal and Off of calling 582 00:22:48,010 --> 00:22:51,130 people on the phone . Um and we'll do 583 00:22:51,130 --> 00:22:53,900 that , believe me as soon as I can . Um 584 00:22:53,910 --> 00:22:57,540 but as for the COVID cases there's been 585 00:22:57,540 --> 00:23:01,280 no decision not to report or to to to 586 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:03,613 slim down . Are the flow of information ? 587 00:23:03,613 --> 00:23:05,780 I can tell you that as of the 11th . I 588 00:23:05,780 --> 00:23:07,724 mean we've had And that's our last 589 00:23:07,724 --> 00:23:09,613 update and I think it's out there 590 00:23:09,613 --> 00:23:12,590 publicly . We've had more than 606 . 591 00:23:12,810 --> 00:23:16,170 and 8000 , Yeah , 592 00:23:16,710 --> 00:23:20,660 cases . We've had just over 680 593 00:23:20,660 --> 00:23:22,730 total de od deaths . That includes 594 00:23:22,730 --> 00:23:24,730 military civilians , dependents and 595 00:23:24,730 --> 00:23:28,130 contractors . Um As of 16 596 00:23:28,130 --> 00:23:30,074 March , we're still working to get 597 00:23:30,074 --> 00:23:33,000 shots in arms . We've administered more 598 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,670 than seven million shots um uh in 599 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,260 uh in arms . Um I can give you the 600 00:23:40,260 --> 00:23:42,371 breakdown of all the services here as 601 00:23:42,371 --> 00:23:44,316 of 16 March , I won't give you the 602 00:23:44,316 --> 00:23:46,371 numbers but we can certainly do that 603 00:23:46,371 --> 00:23:48,427 after the briefing . But Active duty 604 00:23:48,427 --> 00:23:48,350 personnel with at least one dose 605 00:23:48,350 --> 00:23:52,010 administered now is at 97.7 606 00:23:52,140 --> 00:23:54,310 percent . Active duty personnel that 607 00:23:54,310 --> 00:23:57,690 are fully vaccinated stands at 92.15% . 608 00:23:57,970 --> 00:24:00,137 And the total force , this is reserves 609 00:24:00,137 --> 00:24:02,248 and guard as well . At least one dose 610 00:24:02,248 --> 00:24:05,460 stands at 93.8% . And the total force 611 00:24:05,460 --> 00:24:09,160 fully vaccinated is at 77.7% . 612 00:24:09,170 --> 00:24:11,410 So I mean we're still working on this 613 00:24:11,410 --> 00:24:13,600 very very hard and again , there's no 614 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,767 decision not to share that information 615 00:24:15,980 --> 00:24:18,036 that we've made it through the worst 616 00:24:18,036 --> 00:24:20,202 and like how much caution is there for 617 00:24:20,202 --> 00:24:22,258 the potential of another wave ? Yeah 618 00:24:22,258 --> 00:24:24,660 nobody's doing any uh spiking any 619 00:24:24,660 --> 00:24:26,840 footballs here ? Uh We know this 620 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,870 pandemic is still ongoing um That the 621 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,370 that the virus is still dangerous and 622 00:24:32,370 --> 00:24:34,540 deadly um because we still are 623 00:24:34,540 --> 00:24:36,707 reporting is it's much smaller numbers 624 00:24:36,707 --> 00:24:38,707 but we're still experiencing deaths 625 00:24:38,707 --> 00:24:41,940 because of Covid . Um So we're watching 626 00:24:41,940 --> 00:24:44,400 this every single day and we're we're 627 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:46,456 not afraid to make adjustments . You 628 00:24:46,456 --> 00:24:48,511 know just recently . We we relaxed a 629 00:24:48,511 --> 00:24:50,678 little bit . Uh none of you are masked 630 00:24:50,678 --> 00:24:52,789 today uh and we put more seats in the 631 00:24:52,789 --> 00:24:54,844 briefing room but it wasn't long ago 632 00:24:54,844 --> 00:24:57,011 when we asked you to be masked in here 633 00:24:57,011 --> 00:24:59,011 and we only had like eight seats in 634 00:24:59,011 --> 00:25:01,233 here . So we're gonna keep adjusting as 635 00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:03,233 as things change . Obviously we all 636 00:25:03,233 --> 00:25:05,470 share everybody's the desire to get 637 00:25:05,470 --> 00:25:07,470 back to normal and to get to a post 638 00:25:07,470 --> 00:25:09,470 pandemic life . But we have to keep 639 00:25:09,470 --> 00:25:12,190 taking it seriously . Yeah good 640 00:25:12,190 --> 00:25:14,246 afternoon we go through the readouts 641 00:25:14,246 --> 00:25:15,968 that came out friday that both 642 00:25:15,968 --> 00:25:17,912 President biden as well as China's 643 00:25:17,912 --> 00:25:19,857 President spoke a lot about Taiwan 644 00:25:19,857 --> 00:25:21,912 during their call . I'm just curious 645 00:25:21,912 --> 00:25:24,134 since the invasion by Russia . Have you 646 00:25:24,134 --> 00:25:26,134 seen any change in China's military 647 00:25:26,134 --> 00:25:28,134 posture towards Taiwan ? And also I 648 00:25:28,134 --> 00:25:27,570 don't know if you saw over the weekend 649 00:25:27,580 --> 00:25:29,691 the chinese ambassador to the U . S . 650 00:25:29,691 --> 00:25:31,747 Said that china could be part of the 651 00:25:31,747 --> 00:25:33,913 solution ? Not the problem . So what's 652 00:25:33,913 --> 00:25:36,080 going on overseas ? I'm just curious . 653 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,302 Have you seen any efforts on their part 654 00:25:38,302 --> 00:25:38,300 to do just that to be part of the 655 00:25:38,300 --> 00:25:40,700 solution ? No , no changes specifically 656 00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:43,050 with respect to Taiwan to speak to ? Um , 657 00:25:43,060 --> 00:25:45,280 obviously nothing's changed about our 658 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,740 one china policy . Um , and uh , and 659 00:25:48,740 --> 00:25:52,640 our and our efforts and our intention 660 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,040 to continue to help Taiwan with its 661 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,110 self defense needs . Uh , and uh , yeah , 662 00:25:58,110 --> 00:25:59,888 I took note of the ambassador's 663 00:25:59,888 --> 00:26:02,990 comments over the weekend as well . Uh , 664 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,340 certainly , uh , should they have a 665 00:26:05,350 --> 00:26:07,517 sincere desire to help bring an end to 666 00:26:07,517 --> 00:26:09,628 this war ? They would find the United 667 00:26:09,628 --> 00:26:12,190 States uh , to welcome that . We just , 668 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:14,200 we just haven't seen that yet . The 669 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,256 Chinese military spokesperson called 670 00:26:16,256 --> 00:26:18,422 the decision of the rock johnson to go 671 00:26:18,422 --> 00:26:20,644 through the strait as provocative , any 672 00:26:20,644 --> 00:26:22,811 response to the international waters . 673 00:26:22,811 --> 00:26:24,756 Freedom of navigation doesn't just 674 00:26:24,756 --> 00:26:26,756 exist for whales and icebergs . And 675 00:26:26,756 --> 00:26:28,867 those are international waters . Um , 676 00:26:28,867 --> 00:26:30,922 and we're going to continue to fly , 677 00:26:30,922 --> 00:26:32,978 sail and operate where international 678 00:26:32,978 --> 00:26:36,360 law allows us to do that . Yeah , I 679 00:26:36,370 --> 00:26:38,426 have a follow up the latest question 680 00:26:38,426 --> 00:26:40,370 and a separate one . Uh , when she 681 00:26:40,370 --> 00:26:42,481 asked about the foreign fighters used 682 00:26:42,481 --> 00:26:44,703 twice , we have not seen an influx into 683 00:26:44,703 --> 00:26:46,759 Ukraine ? I just want to be accurate 684 00:26:46,759 --> 00:26:48,870 about this influx tends to mean large 685 00:26:48,870 --> 00:26:51,030 numbers going in . Are you saying 686 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:53,151 you're not seeing large numbers , Are 687 00:26:53,151 --> 00:26:54,929 you saying you haven't seen any 688 00:26:54,929 --> 00:26:56,818 indication ? We have not seen any 689 00:26:56,818 --> 00:26:58,984 indications that that foreign fighters 690 00:26:58,984 --> 00:27:01,230 outside of private military contractors 691 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,690 have have flowed into 692 00:27:04,690 --> 00:27:07,310 Ukraine and and tom I want to be very 693 00:27:07,310 --> 00:27:09,532 clear with all of you , there's a limit 694 00:27:09,532 --> 00:27:12,090 to our knowledge here . Right ? So can 695 00:27:12,090 --> 00:27:14,400 I definitively tell you that by onesies 696 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,622 and twosies ? Nobody's gonna I can't we 697 00:27:16,622 --> 00:27:18,789 don't have that level of granularity , 698 00:27:18,789 --> 00:27:21,011 but I'm saying we just haven't seen any 699 00:27:21,011 --> 00:27:23,233 indications of it . I just want to make 700 00:27:23,233 --> 00:27:25,178 it clear because as time goes on , 701 00:27:25,178 --> 00:27:26,970 things might change and our our 702 00:27:26,970 --> 00:27:28,859 knowledge , you know , will be as 703 00:27:28,859 --> 00:27:30,859 transparent as we can about what we 704 00:27:30,859 --> 00:27:30,570 know , but we're not going to know 705 00:27:30,570 --> 00:27:32,737 everything . I appreciate that . My my 706 00:27:32,737 --> 00:27:34,848 my second question is there have been 707 00:27:34,848 --> 00:27:36,737 reports over the weekend that the 708 00:27:36,737 --> 00:27:38,848 Russians are now planning to use some 709 00:27:38,848 --> 00:27:40,792 land mines in and around the major 710 00:27:40,792 --> 00:27:42,959 cities of Ukraine . I'm not asking you 711 00:27:42,959 --> 00:27:45,070 to verify that or substantiate that . 712 00:27:45,070 --> 00:27:47,237 My question , it focuses on the use of 713 00:27:47,237 --> 00:27:49,237 landmines in a conflict like this . 714 00:27:49,237 --> 00:27:51,126 What impact will that have on the 715 00:27:51,126 --> 00:27:52,959 pentagon's ongoing review of its 716 00:27:52,959 --> 00:27:54,959 landmine policy ? I don't know that 717 00:27:54,959 --> 00:27:57,070 that would have any effect on our own 718 00:27:57,070 --> 00:27:59,292 review of our of our policy , I need to 719 00:27:59,292 --> 00:28:03,270 get to some . But obviously 720 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:05,862 again , I'm not verifying the reports , 721 00:28:05,862 --> 00:28:09,750 but if but I know you don't but but if 722 00:28:09,750 --> 00:28:12,850 true , it's just another example of of 723 00:28:12,850 --> 00:28:14,906 the degree to which the Russians are 724 00:28:14,906 --> 00:28:18,210 willing to sacrifice innocent lives for 725 00:28:18,220 --> 00:28:20,700 a completely unprovoked a war of choice 726 00:28:20,700 --> 00:28:22,170 here Phil Stewart . 727 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,520 Thanks . I was just hoping you could 728 00:28:26,530 --> 00:28:29,370 revisit this idea of targeting 729 00:28:29,370 --> 00:28:32,350 civilians in uh in Ukraine . And given 730 00:28:32,350 --> 00:28:34,572 all the images that have gone out there 731 00:28:34,572 --> 00:28:36,580 now about apartment buildings and 732 00:28:36,590 --> 00:28:39,370 churches and other structures that have 733 00:28:39,370 --> 00:28:41,410 been targeted theater in , uh , in 734 00:28:41,410 --> 00:28:44,410 Mario paul . Um , is it your visit the 735 00:28:44,410 --> 00:28:46,632 U . S . Assessment at this point that , 736 00:28:46,632 --> 00:28:48,950 um , targeting civilians is part of the 737 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,160 strategy by by Russia in this war . 738 00:28:51,170 --> 00:28:54,180 Thanks . Again , fill without perfect 739 00:28:54,180 --> 00:28:56,470 knowledge of what the Russians , what 740 00:28:56,470 --> 00:28:59,120 they're , what have their their plans . 741 00:28:59,130 --> 00:29:01,480 We continue to see indiscriminate 742 00:29:01,490 --> 00:29:05,300 attacks on civilians , which , uh , 743 00:29:05,310 --> 00:29:08,510 we believe , uh , in many cases , is 744 00:29:08,510 --> 00:29:11,360 intentional . Um , and , um , 745 00:29:11,940 --> 00:29:14,720 again , I can't , there's no 746 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:16,887 justification for it . So I don't mind 747 00:29:16,887 --> 00:29:18,887 being going to try to do that . But 748 00:29:18,887 --> 00:29:20,831 clearly , uh , they are , they are 749 00:29:20,831 --> 00:29:22,942 causing increased numbers of civilian 750 00:29:22,942 --> 00:29:25,950 casualties . Tony . Capasso , 751 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,407 John had a couple of quick questions . 752 00:29:29,407 --> 00:29:31,629 One , can you clarify a little bit what 753 00:29:31,629 --> 00:29:33,740 you're doing right now to fulfill the 754 00:29:33,740 --> 00:29:36,120 president's $800 million dollars order 755 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:38,520 basically . Are you looking at Army and 756 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:40,970 Marine Corps inventories for stingers , 757 00:29:40,970 --> 00:29:43,360 javelins , and the switch blades and 758 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,471 body armor ? Or are you going out and 759 00:29:45,471 --> 00:29:47,693 buying it ? Please give it clarify that 760 00:29:47,693 --> 00:29:49,916 a little bit . And then I had to follow 761 00:29:49,916 --> 00:29:52,027 on . Yeah , Tony . We're working very 762 00:29:52,027 --> 00:29:55,640 hard right now in both The policy lanes 763 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:58,170 as well as the operational lanes , uh , 764 00:29:58,180 --> 00:30:01,220 to to , uh , to fill out that $800 765 00:30:01,220 --> 00:30:03,640 million dollar package that the , that 766 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:05,696 the president just signed a few days 767 00:30:05,696 --> 00:30:08,350 ago . Um , we're , we we started 768 00:30:08,350 --> 00:30:10,572 working on it immediately . We're doing 769 00:30:10,572 --> 00:30:12,830 that . Now . I can't speak to any 770 00:30:12,830 --> 00:30:15,350 specific deliveries as you well know 771 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:19,130 likely deliveries of this material will 772 00:30:19,130 --> 00:30:22,410 happen over A period of time . And we 773 00:30:22,410 --> 00:30:24,521 won't , we'll try to expedite that as 774 00:30:24,521 --> 00:30:26,688 fast as possible . I mean if you think 775 00:30:26,688 --> 00:30:28,632 about that $350 million , we think 776 00:30:28,632 --> 00:30:30,743 we'll be able to close out on that by 777 00:30:30,743 --> 00:30:32,966 the end of this week . That's just just 778 00:30:32,966 --> 00:30:35,188 a couple of weeks of work to get that's 779 00:30:35,188 --> 00:30:37,243 unprecedented pace . And we're gonna 780 00:30:37,243 --> 00:30:39,354 try to do it is just as quickly going 781 00:30:39,354 --> 00:30:41,466 forward with this 800 million . So it 782 00:30:41,466 --> 00:30:43,521 will be a series of installments and 783 00:30:43,521 --> 00:30:45,632 shipments over time . Obviously we're 784 00:30:45,632 --> 00:30:47,854 going to prioritize the kinds of things 785 00:30:47,854 --> 00:30:49,910 that we know the Ukrainians need the 786 00:30:49,910 --> 00:30:52,021 most in the fight there in . Um , and 787 00:30:52,021 --> 00:30:54,299 just like we did with the $350 million . 788 00:30:54,299 --> 00:30:56,410 Uh , so it'll be , it won't just be a 789 00:30:56,410 --> 00:30:58,632 random rack and stack . We're gonna try 790 00:30:58,632 --> 00:31:00,632 to get them the things they need as 791 00:31:00,632 --> 00:31:02,854 fast as possible and make sure it's the 792 00:31:02,854 --> 00:31:04,743 right things . I can't give you a 793 00:31:04,743 --> 00:31:06,910 delivery dates on stingers or javelins 794 00:31:06,910 --> 00:31:08,910 or or U . A . V . S or body armor . 795 00:31:08,910 --> 00:31:10,799 Again , we're working all , we're 796 00:31:10,799 --> 00:31:12,910 working that right now we're in close 797 00:31:12,910 --> 00:31:15,670 consultation with with not only , um , 798 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,380 the services but the combatant commands 799 00:31:18,390 --> 00:31:19,834 to try to fill this out . 800 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:27,770 Um , carla babb . Take out 801 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:31,900 the air defenses . Hey , did you hear 802 00:31:31,900 --> 00:31:34,122 Tony's question ? I think I missed it . 803 00:31:34,122 --> 00:31:36,410 Tony . Do you have a follow up ? Yeah . 804 00:31:36,420 --> 00:31:38,930 And again on the Russian failure to 805 00:31:38,940 --> 00:31:41,860 suppress Ukrainian air defenses . Those 806 00:31:41,860 --> 00:31:43,749 defense , those those weapons are 807 00:31:43,749 --> 00:31:46,150 largely old soviet weaponry is the 808 00:31:46,150 --> 00:31:48,150 pentagon fairly astonished that the 809 00:31:48,150 --> 00:31:50,650 Russian air force has had such problems 810 00:31:50,830 --> 00:31:53,220 taking out basically some of their 811 00:31:53,220 --> 00:31:55,387 older equipment from the evil empire , 812 00:31:55,387 --> 00:31:58,760 so to speak , Tony . I mean , 813 00:31:58,770 --> 00:32:00,770 I would tell you , um , 814 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,560 we We think that one reason 815 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:09,607 that the Russians have been frustrated 816 00:32:09,607 --> 00:32:12,350 and in terms of the progress that they 817 00:32:12,350 --> 00:32:14,720 haven't made , obviously a big reason 818 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:16,910 is the Ukrainian resistance , but but 819 00:32:16,910 --> 00:32:20,460 also their , we've not seen them um 820 00:32:21,140 --> 00:32:23,362 properly plan and execute for logistics 821 00:32:23,362 --> 00:32:25,529 and sustainment . They're still having 822 00:32:25,529 --> 00:32:27,584 fuel problems . They're still having 823 00:32:27,584 --> 00:32:29,751 trouble feeding some of their troops . 824 00:32:29,751 --> 00:32:31,973 They're having trouble with command and 825 00:32:31,973 --> 00:32:34,810 control on the ground . Uh , so they've , 826 00:32:34,820 --> 00:32:37,630 they've made missteps of their own . Uh , 827 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:39,807 and that would also include what we in 828 00:32:39,807 --> 00:32:41,751 the pentagon called Jointness . We 829 00:32:41,751 --> 00:32:43,584 don't see a level of integration 830 00:32:43,584 --> 00:32:45,730 between their air forces and their 831 00:32:45,730 --> 00:32:49,590 ground forces with any level of um 832 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:52,230 efficiency . Um , and I would say the 833 00:32:52,230 --> 00:32:54,452 same for maritime , although we haven't 834 00:32:54,452 --> 00:32:56,674 seen a lot of maritime activity . We're 835 00:32:56,674 --> 00:32:58,786 talking about some increased maritime 836 00:32:58,786 --> 00:33:00,897 activity today . Um , it's it appears 837 00:33:00,897 --> 00:33:03,119 as if a lot of these operations are are 838 00:33:03,119 --> 00:33:05,970 are are being conducted in in silos not 839 00:33:05,970 --> 00:33:08,460 necessarily integrated across the force . 840 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:10,060 Carla . 841 00:33:13,340 --> 00:33:16,120 Hey , thanks . I'm sorry . Um , really 842 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,830 quickly just to follow up on fills your 843 00:33:18,830 --> 00:33:21,230 comments to fill you just said that you 844 00:33:21,230 --> 00:33:23,452 saw indiscriminate attacks on civilians 845 00:33:23,452 --> 00:33:25,119 which the U . S . Believes is 846 00:33:25,119 --> 00:33:27,310 intentional . Well they'll they'll be 847 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:30,790 um further repercussions to Russians uh 848 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:32,960 in addition to it uh sanctioning them 849 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:34,904 and supplying the Ukrainians after 850 00:33:34,904 --> 00:33:37,680 Russia invaded Ukraine . Will this new 851 00:33:37,690 --> 00:33:40,190 um you know , intentional attacking of 852 00:33:40,190 --> 00:33:42,020 civilians come with additional 853 00:33:42,030 --> 00:33:44,197 repercussions to the Russians ? That's 854 00:33:44,197 --> 00:33:46,363 question number one . And um sorry for 855 00:33:46,363 --> 00:33:48,474 my my lost Voice . Um Question number 856 00:33:48,474 --> 00:33:51,650 two , um is the S . 300 in Ukraine . 857 00:33:51,660 --> 00:33:53,830 And then question number three , Has 858 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:55,830 the us been discussing with Turkey 859 00:33:55,830 --> 00:33:58,670 about sending an s . to Ukraine ? 860 00:33:59,740 --> 00:34:01,796 Alright , on repercussions . I'm not 861 00:34:01,796 --> 00:34:03,907 going to get ahead of of where things 862 00:34:03,907 --> 00:34:05,684 are . Uh we certainly see clear 863 00:34:05,684 --> 00:34:07,518 evidence that Russian forces are 864 00:34:07,518 --> 00:34:09,351 committing war crimes and we are 865 00:34:09,351 --> 00:34:11,410 helping uh with the collecting of 866 00:34:11,410 --> 00:34:13,132 evidence of that . But there's 867 00:34:13,132 --> 00:34:15,299 investigative processes that are going 868 00:34:15,299 --> 00:34:17,188 to go on and we're gonna let that 869 00:34:17,188 --> 00:34:17,040 happen . We're gonna contribute to that 870 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:19,040 investigative process . As for what 871 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:21,151 would come out of that . That's not a 872 00:34:21,151 --> 00:34:23,262 decision that the Pentagon leadership 873 00:34:23,262 --> 00:34:25,373 would make . Um I'm not going to talk 874 00:34:25,373 --> 00:34:27,429 about specific systems that are that 875 00:34:27,429 --> 00:34:29,651 are in Ukraine and I think you guys can 876 00:34:29,651 --> 00:34:31,910 understand why we wouldn't do that . Uh 877 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:34,930 operational security matters to the 878 00:34:34,930 --> 00:34:37,850 Ukrainians right now . Um there um 879 00:34:38,340 --> 00:34:40,507 they're fighting for their country and 880 00:34:40,507 --> 00:34:42,284 the pentagon is not going to be 881 00:34:42,284 --> 00:34:44,840 detailing publicly the tools with which 882 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:47,007 they are doing that . So I'm not going 883 00:34:47,007 --> 00:34:49,173 to talk about specific systems one way 884 00:34:49,173 --> 00:34:50,970 or the other mike breast . 885 00:34:55,540 --> 00:34:57,550 Thanks for taking my question . The 886 00:34:57,550 --> 00:34:59,960 conversation about Ukraine's bio labs 887 00:34:59,970 --> 00:35:02,420 really began during undersecretary 888 00:35:02,420 --> 00:35:04,570 Newlands testimony on the hill and 889 00:35:04,570 --> 00:35:06,626 during her testimony , she mentioned 890 00:35:06,626 --> 00:35:08,737 that the US was concerned that Russia 891 00:35:08,737 --> 00:35:10,790 could target these labs . Has the 892 00:35:10,790 --> 00:35:14,110 pentagon seen any evidence of that ? I 893 00:35:14,110 --> 00:35:16,277 don't have any indications to speak to 894 00:35:16,277 --> 00:35:18,470 today that uh , that there's been uh 895 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,910 specific specific targeting of uh , of 896 00:35:21,910 --> 00:35:24,550 the bio labs that were in Ukraine ? No . 897 00:35:27,140 --> 00:35:30,850 Um , let's see heather from us and I 898 00:35:31,540 --> 00:35:34,230 hi , thanks so much . Um two questions . 899 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:38,000 Um first going back to covid 19 . Um , 900 00:35:38,010 --> 00:35:40,350 I know you mentioned the numbers of 901 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:42,770 people who are vaccinated , but any 902 00:35:42,770 --> 00:35:45,350 concerns about the the lawsuits that 903 00:35:45,350 --> 00:35:47,517 are currently making their ways to the 904 00:35:47,517 --> 00:35:49,540 different courts um becoming class 905 00:35:49,540 --> 00:35:52,680 actions and preventing about 4000 . Um , 906 00:35:52,690 --> 00:35:55,310 so uh military personnel from getting 907 00:35:55,310 --> 00:35:58,880 vaccinated and then um on the maritime 908 00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:00,936 efforts , are you seeing anything of 909 00:36:00,936 --> 00:36:03,158 the other Russian fleets outside of the 910 00:36:03,158 --> 00:36:05,780 Black Sea fleet attempting to um go 911 00:36:05,780 --> 00:36:07,947 through the straits to the Black Sea . 912 00:36:09,430 --> 00:36:11,820 I have no additional Russian naval 913 00:36:11,820 --> 00:36:14,042 activity to to speak to you again , I'm 914 00:36:14,042 --> 00:36:16,098 not gonna become a spokesman for the 915 00:36:16,098 --> 00:36:18,220 Russian Navy . Um , I'm telling you 916 00:36:18,220 --> 00:36:20,640 what , what I as much as I can about 917 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:22,880 what we're seeing . Um and as for 918 00:36:22,890 --> 00:36:26,870 lawsuits , um uh , I would just first 919 00:36:26,870 --> 00:36:29,200 of all , because there is active 920 00:36:29,210 --> 00:36:31,540 litigation . I'm not gonna comment in a 921 00:36:31,540 --> 00:36:33,762 way that would affect that litigation . 922 00:36:33,762 --> 00:36:35,596 I would only simply say that the 923 00:36:35,596 --> 00:36:39,440 secretary , the 924 00:36:39,450 --> 00:36:41,570 health and well being of the entire 925 00:36:41,570 --> 00:36:44,310 force is his paramount concern to 926 00:36:44,310 --> 00:36:46,366 Travis's question . This is still an 927 00:36:46,366 --> 00:36:48,310 active pandemic . People are still 928 00:36:48,310 --> 00:36:50,310 dying . People in our family in the 929 00:36:50,310 --> 00:36:52,532 duty family are still dying from this . 930 00:36:52,532 --> 00:36:56,340 So uh we we we believe that the the 931 00:36:56,340 --> 00:36:59,180 vaccine literally saves lives . It is 932 00:36:59,190 --> 00:37:02,360 it is still a mandatory vaccine here in 933 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,300 the department . It's a lawful order uh , 934 00:37:05,310 --> 00:37:08,460 to uh to administer that that vaccine . 935 00:37:08,470 --> 00:37:10,470 Um , and we're going to continue to 936 00:37:10,470 --> 00:37:13,320 administer that vaccine uh , to our to 937 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:15,700 our troops and our civilians because we 938 00:37:15,700 --> 00:37:18,090 believe that it makes individuals more 939 00:37:18,090 --> 00:37:20,257 healthy , which makes units more ready 940 00:37:20,257 --> 00:37:22,820 and nothing has changed about that . I 941 00:37:22,820 --> 00:37:26,260 had time for just a couple more . A 942 00:37:26,270 --> 00:37:28,326 couple clarifications and I've got a 943 00:37:28,326 --> 00:37:32,200 question is D O . D . Is D O . D ready 944 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:35,960 to confirm if hypersonic 945 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:39,690 weapons into Ukraine ? That's one . Do 946 00:37:39,690 --> 00:37:41,857 you want to answer that ? And then you 947 00:37:41,857 --> 00:37:44,730 want a second one . Look , we we've 948 00:37:44,730 --> 00:37:46,952 seen the Russian claim that they used a 949 00:37:46,952 --> 00:37:50,530 hypersonic missile missile . Um , we're 950 00:37:50,530 --> 00:37:52,641 not in a position to refute that that 951 00:37:52,641 --> 00:37:54,586 claim , but we're also not able to 952 00:37:54,586 --> 00:37:56,808 independently verify it . Okay , one of 953 00:37:56,808 --> 00:37:59,900 the fall upon on Carlos question is you 954 00:37:59,900 --> 00:38:01,956 talked about you're not going to say 955 00:38:01,956 --> 00:38:04,710 what systems are in Ukraine but is D . 956 00:38:04,710 --> 00:38:06,490 O . D . Talking to Turkey about 957 00:38:06,500 --> 00:38:09,420 transferring S 400 . That's one follow 958 00:38:09,420 --> 00:38:11,560 up . And then I would like to have a 959 00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:15,120 little more clarity on uh like how the 960 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:17,560 United States is howdy Doody is helping 961 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:20,280 to get Ukraine the air defense systems 962 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,740 it needs if we don't in fact have those 963 00:38:22,750 --> 00:38:25,450 air defense systems and if this $800 964 00:38:25,450 --> 00:38:28,060 million is used at all for that purpose , 965 00:38:28,070 --> 00:38:30,292 the drawdown package that the president 966 00:38:30,292 --> 00:38:32,237 signed is for the United States to 967 00:38:32,237 --> 00:38:35,390 procure the kinds of defensive 968 00:38:35,390 --> 00:38:37,334 assistance that we've , we've been 969 00:38:37,334 --> 00:38:39,557 procuring again in in lockstep with the 970 00:38:39,557 --> 00:38:41,612 Ukrainians and talking to them about 971 00:38:41,612 --> 00:38:43,920 what they need . Um And we put out a 972 00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:46,031 fact sheet the same day the president 973 00:38:46,031 --> 00:38:48,198 announced it . So you've seen , you've 974 00:38:48,198 --> 00:38:50,476 seen the list , the inventory list now , 975 00:38:50,476 --> 00:38:52,476 it's just a matter of sourcing that 976 00:38:52,476 --> 00:38:54,476 getting him and and and getting him 977 00:38:54,476 --> 00:38:56,476 over there . So I'm not going to go 978 00:38:56,476 --> 00:38:58,364 beyond what the president already 979 00:38:58,364 --> 00:39:00,531 announced he's going to be providing . 980 00:39:00,531 --> 00:39:02,970 Um look on the As 300 yes , 400 rumor 981 00:39:02,970 --> 00:39:05,170 that I saw in the press . I would just 982 00:39:05,170 --> 00:39:08,780 tell you our focus is on 983 00:39:08,790 --> 00:39:11,930 working with allies and partners uh to 984 00:39:11,930 --> 00:39:14,410 help get into Ukrainian hands 985 00:39:14,420 --> 00:39:16,780 additional systems that they know how 986 00:39:16,780 --> 00:39:18,669 to use , that they operate , that 987 00:39:18,669 --> 00:39:20,891 they're trained on uh and that they can 988 00:39:20,891 --> 00:39:22,947 put two ready use and I think I just 989 00:39:22,947 --> 00:39:25,180 leave it at that . Yeah . Yeah . In the 990 00:39:25,180 --> 00:39:27,402 in the months since the invasion , have 991 00:39:27,402 --> 00:39:30,380 y'all noticed or observed any uh 992 00:39:30,390 --> 00:39:33,150 examples of force on force engagements 993 00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:36,740 between Russian units and Ukrainian 994 00:39:36,740 --> 00:39:39,420 units or beds have been mainly , you 995 00:39:39,420 --> 00:39:41,620 know , one side fires , artillery at 996 00:39:41,620 --> 00:39:44,030 schools and the other side ambushes the 997 00:39:44,030 --> 00:39:46,250 lone Russian tank wandering in circles 998 00:39:46,250 --> 00:39:49,390 somewhere . I mean if you're asking me 999 00:39:49,390 --> 00:39:51,600 are Ukrainian armed forces in contact 1000 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:54,570 with Russian forces . Yes , they are 1001 00:39:54,580 --> 00:39:58,280 organized . They Ukrainian armed 1002 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:00,502 forces are in contact with with Russian 1003 00:40:00,502 --> 00:40:02,391 forces and have been , there's no 1004 00:40:02,391 --> 00:40:04,800 question about that . Um , I can't give 1005 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:06,630 you specific units in specific 1006 00:40:06,630 --> 00:40:08,574 locations . I just don't have that 1007 00:40:08,574 --> 00:40:10,840 level of detail . But what's noteworthy 1008 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:14,340 to mike is that average Ukrainian 1009 00:40:14,340 --> 00:40:17,070 citizens are coming to the defense of 1010 00:40:17,070 --> 00:40:19,237 their cities and their homes and their 1011 00:40:19,237 --> 00:40:21,403 and their and their villages . Um , it 1012 00:40:21,403 --> 00:40:23,880 was quite touching . I spoke to a one 1013 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:27,800 of your colleagues a week or so ago 1014 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,550 who was in Poland near the border 1015 00:40:31,550 --> 00:40:35,540 crossing and seeing busses and 1016 00:40:35,540 --> 00:40:38,860 trucks and cars and literally 1017 00:40:38,870 --> 00:40:41,890 thousands of Ukrainians 1018 00:40:42,710 --> 00:40:46,020 fleeing the country , families in tow 1019 00:40:46,850 --> 00:40:49,980 and this colleague of yours didn't see 1020 00:40:49,980 --> 00:40:53,030 a single a man who 1021 00:40:53,510 --> 00:40:55,780 wasn't turning right back around and 1022 00:40:55,780 --> 00:40:57,950 going into the fight and there were 1023 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:00,520 many women doing the same thing . Once 1024 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:02,742 they made sure that their Children were 1025 00:41:02,742 --> 00:41:04,909 safe , turning right back around to to 1026 00:41:04,909 --> 00:41:08,220 take up arms and the sheer bravery of 1027 00:41:08,220 --> 00:41:10,130 it is is inspiring . So there is 1028 00:41:10,130 --> 00:41:13,220 contact between the armed forces 1029 00:41:13,220 --> 00:41:15,670 clearly . Um , but there's a there's a 1030 00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:17,847 lot of just average Ukrainian citizens 1031 00:41:17,847 --> 00:41:20,010 of all stripes that are fighting 1032 00:41:20,010 --> 00:41:23,280 bravely for their country ? Yes , thank 1033 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,250 you . There's been some reporting that 1034 00:41:26,260 --> 00:41:29,220 Russia is planning to possibly locate 1035 00:41:29,230 --> 00:41:31,710 nuclear weapons in Belarus . Have you 1036 00:41:31,710 --> 00:41:34,540 seen any indication of that or ? No ? 1037 00:41:35,100 --> 00:41:37,100 And if it were , if they were to do 1038 00:41:37,100 --> 00:41:39,433 that , would you consider an escalation ? 1039 00:41:40,610 --> 00:41:43,080 Thank you . John Poland has stated that 1040 00:41:43,090 --> 00:41:45,790 it plans to submit a proposal for a 1041 00:41:45,790 --> 00:41:48,530 NATO peace keeping mission in Ukraine . 1042 00:41:49,010 --> 00:41:51,232 Um as you have support that this is the 1043 00:41:51,232 --> 00:41:53,232 first thing , The other thing . And 1044 00:41:53,232 --> 00:41:55,288 what's your position if these troops 1045 00:41:55,288 --> 00:41:57,454 included NATO troops without us troops 1046 00:41:57,454 --> 00:41:59,677 being involved ? Can you say the second 1047 00:41:59,677 --> 00:42:02,000 question again ? And what's what's your 1048 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,000 position ? These troops included NATO 1049 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:08,390 troops without US troops being involved ? 1050 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:12,020 Look , I'm aware that Poland was going 1051 00:42:12,020 --> 00:42:15,860 to make this proposal today . I think 1052 00:42:15,860 --> 00:42:18,490 that's a discussion for NATO leaders to 1053 00:42:18,490 --> 00:42:20,657 talk about later in the week . I'm not 1054 00:42:20,657 --> 00:42:22,546 going to get ahead of that . Um , 1055 00:42:26,110 --> 00:42:28,110 thank you . It kind of goes without 1056 00:42:28,110 --> 00:42:30,110 saying , but I'll say it anyway . I 1057 00:42:30,110 --> 00:42:32,277 mean , there shouldn't be a need for a 1058 00:42:32,277 --> 00:42:31,520 peacekeeping force because there 1059 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:33,687 shouldn't have been a war of choice by 1060 00:42:33,687 --> 00:42:36,510 Mr Putin , and he can end it today by 1061 00:42:36,510 --> 00:42:38,621 negotiating in good faith and getting 1062 00:42:38,621 --> 00:42:40,830 his troops out of Ukraine and stopping 1063 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:42,507 the killing and the death and 1064 00:42:42,507 --> 00:42:44,673 destruction that he and his forces are 1065 00:42:44,673 --> 00:42:46,784 responsible for . But again , I'm not 1066 00:42:46,784 --> 00:42:48,618 gonna get ahead of international 1067 00:42:48,618 --> 00:42:48,460 discussions here in this particular 1068 00:42:48,460 --> 00:42:51,410 proposal . Okay , thanks everybody . We 1069 00:42:51,410 --> 00:42:52,830 will see you tomorrow