1 00:00:00,340 --> 00:00:04,050 wow , I knew I'd be facing your 2 00:00:04,050 --> 00:00:05,450 wicked stare down , so 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,407 I don't want to get the stink eye from 4 00:00:10,407 --> 00:00:12,518 Megan . Alright , Nothing much at the 5 00:00:12,518 --> 00:00:15,330 top , except just let you know that the 6 00:00:15,340 --> 00:00:17,507 Secretary had a chance this morning to 7 00:00:17,507 --> 00:00:19,562 speak with the Ukrainian Minister of 8 00:00:19,562 --> 00:00:22,130 Defense Minister Reznikoff . Um This 9 00:00:22,130 --> 00:00:24,890 follows a constant dialogue and 10 00:00:24,890 --> 00:00:26,946 conversation that Secretary has with 11 00:00:26,946 --> 00:00:29,460 the Minister . They talked about 12 00:00:30,540 --> 00:00:32,651 all the things that the United States 13 00:00:32,651 --> 00:00:34,929 is doing to help Ukraine defend itself . 14 00:00:35,330 --> 00:00:37,590 Mr Resnick off , thank the Secretary 15 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,960 for that support . Um and offered his 16 00:00:40,970 --> 00:00:42,990 assessment of the situation on the 17 00:00:42,990 --> 00:00:45,780 ground as you might expect . Secretary 18 00:00:45,780 --> 00:00:47,836 Austin highlighted again our ongoing 19 00:00:47,836 --> 00:00:50,002 efforts to deliver security assistance 20 00:00:50,002 --> 00:00:52,002 to Ukraine as much as we can and as 21 00:00:52,002 --> 00:00:54,200 fast as we can and our commitment to 22 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,640 you to to meet Ukraine's most urgent 23 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:58,450 needs in evolving battlefield 24 00:00:58,450 --> 00:01:00,740 requirements . And obviously all of 25 00:01:00,740 --> 00:01:03,150 this was done in the context of what we 26 00:01:03,150 --> 00:01:05,360 continue to see is Russia's rip 27 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:07,830 prioritization of the east and the 28 00:01:07,830 --> 00:01:10,900 south . And of course the Secretary 29 00:01:10,900 --> 00:01:13,280 talked about our coordination efforts 30 00:01:13,290 --> 00:01:15,610 with other allies and partners . We'll 31 00:01:15,610 --> 00:01:18,140 have a full readout of the of the 32 00:01:18,140 --> 00:01:19,918 meeting uh a little bit later , 33 00:01:19,918 --> 00:01:21,751 probably before the , before the 34 00:01:21,751 --> 00:01:23,973 briefing is over with that . We'll take 35 00:01:23,973 --> 00:01:26,590 questions . I don't see bob or lita . 36 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,340 So okay , two quick questions . 37 00:01:30,350 --> 00:01:32,350 There are some social media reports 38 00:01:32,350 --> 00:01:34,294 about some equipment moving to the 39 00:01:34,294 --> 00:01:36,406 border Russia's border with Finland . 40 00:01:36,406 --> 00:01:38,517 Have you seen anything any build up ? 41 00:01:38,517 --> 00:01:40,572 Um And secondly , on Mario pole , it 42 00:01:40,572 --> 00:01:42,572 does increasingly seem like it will 43 00:01:42,572 --> 00:01:44,739 fall at some point . Um and I was just 44 00:01:44,739 --> 00:01:46,850 curious , there's a sort of narrative 45 00:01:46,850 --> 00:01:48,794 being built up in Russia , that if 46 00:01:48,794 --> 00:01:50,961 Mariupol is taken by the Russians , it 47 00:01:50,961 --> 00:01:53,183 would be a massive success and it would 48 00:01:53,183 --> 00:01:55,183 change the tide of the war and then 49 00:01:55,183 --> 00:01:55,180 they could refocus back on the west 50 00:01:55,180 --> 00:01:57,402 again . And I was just curious how your 51 00:01:57,402 --> 00:01:59,458 assessment is if Mario , but they're 52 00:01:59,458 --> 00:02:01,458 not if when Mario ball falls , what 53 00:02:01,458 --> 00:02:03,680 that would mean ? Well , first of all , 54 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:05,791 I don't think , I don't think anybody 55 00:02:05,791 --> 00:02:07,958 here is what is ready to be fatalistic 56 00:02:07,958 --> 00:02:10,124 about what happens in Mario opal . But 57 00:02:10,124 --> 00:02:09,870 your first question , no , I have not 58 00:02:09,870 --> 00:02:12,160 seen anything to confirm . Social media 59 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,540 reports about Russian equipment , 60 00:02:15,550 --> 00:02:18,610 weapons or systems or forces uh near 61 00:02:18,610 --> 00:02:22,500 Finland . Um , Our 62 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:24,444 assessment today is that Mario was 63 00:02:24,444 --> 00:02:27,090 still contested and that the Ukrainians 64 00:02:27,090 --> 00:02:29,460 are still fighting to defend 65 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,810 mary Goble from Russian seizure of 66 00:02:34,810 --> 00:02:37,550 it . You've seen the images yourself , 67 00:02:37,550 --> 00:02:39,840 you've seen the devastation that uh 68 00:02:39,850 --> 00:02:42,110 Russian airstrikes have wrought on on 69 00:02:42,110 --> 00:02:44,310 Mario people in the city . But our 70 00:02:44,310 --> 00:02:46,730 assessment is that the Ukrainians are , 71 00:02:46,740 --> 00:02:50,700 are still fighting for it . Um And 72 00:02:51,140 --> 00:02:54,660 look , i it's obvious that the 73 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,490 the Russians want Mario people because 74 00:02:58,490 --> 00:03:01,020 of its strategic location there at the 75 00:03:01,020 --> 00:03:03,170 south of that boss area and right on 76 00:03:03,170 --> 00:03:05,650 the sea of Azov , it's a major ports 77 00:03:05,650 --> 00:03:09,640 city one too . Um it would provide 78 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:13,010 them unfettered an 79 00:03:13,010 --> 00:03:16,060 unhindered land access between the 80 00:03:16,060 --> 00:03:18,720 Donbas and Crimea And three , because 81 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:20,880 it's south to the south of the 82 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,190 anonymous area . If in fact what they 83 00:03:23,190 --> 00:03:26,850 say is true that they uh that 84 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,670 that they want to secure for themselves , 85 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:31,847 that Donbass area . The area that they 86 00:03:31,847 --> 00:03:33,680 claim is pronounced , you know , 87 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,990 predominantly basically uh Russian 88 00:03:36,990 --> 00:03:40,210 provinces . Um then 89 00:03:40,930 --> 00:03:43,097 there Mario people , from a geographic 90 00:03:43,097 --> 00:03:44,950 perspective , you can you can 91 00:03:44,950 --> 00:03:47,780 understand why that would be important 92 00:03:47,780 --> 00:03:49,836 to them in terms of their efforts in 93 00:03:49,836 --> 00:03:52,770 the in the Donbas . Um So it it has 94 00:03:52,770 --> 00:03:55,790 significance on many levels . It also 95 00:03:55,790 --> 00:03:58,250 has great significance to the Ukrainian 96 00:03:58,250 --> 00:04:01,010 people because of what it represents to 97 00:04:01,010 --> 00:04:03,121 their economic life . But and because 98 00:04:03,121 --> 00:04:06,770 it is their city and it's uh and it's 99 00:04:06,770 --> 00:04:08,992 it's part of their country and and they 100 00:04:08,992 --> 00:04:11,048 haven't given up on it and we're not 101 00:04:11,048 --> 00:04:14,230 giving up on them either . Sylvia , Can 102 00:04:14,230 --> 00:04:16,930 you confirm that some of the U . S . 103 00:04:16,930 --> 00:04:20,640 Marines who participated in some 104 00:04:20,650 --> 00:04:24,060 exercise in Norway recently stayed in 105 00:04:24,060 --> 00:04:27,690 europe ? Can you tell us how many and 106 00:04:27,690 --> 00:04:29,870 where we already talked about this ? 107 00:04:29,870 --> 00:04:31,703 Sophie yeah , there was a marine 108 00:04:31,703 --> 00:04:33,870 exercise in Norway cold response . And 109 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,850 um most of the marine units that 110 00:04:37,850 --> 00:04:40,240 participated did redeploy back home . 111 00:04:40,250 --> 00:04:42,417 But we I announced this last week . We 112 00:04:42,417 --> 00:04:45,590 kept we kept some headquarters elements 113 00:04:45,590 --> 00:04:49,330 and we kept uh some f 18 , excuse me f 114 00:04:49,330 --> 00:04:51,660 18 strike fighter aircraft , 115 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,450 uh you know , a few half a dozen or so . 116 00:04:55,460 --> 00:04:58,940 Uh kept them kept them in the region . 117 00:04:59,180 --> 00:05:02,090 So uh we've already talked about this , 118 00:05:02,690 --> 00:05:05,170 nothing , nothing new , it was on the 119 00:05:05,180 --> 00:05:07,790 eastern flank . Oh did you keep them ? 120 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,390 Yeah , I would have to go back and look 121 00:05:10,390 --> 00:05:12,557 exactly where they went . But it was , 122 00:05:12,557 --> 00:05:15,080 I think , I think they were largely we 123 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:16,913 were going to reposition them or 124 00:05:16,913 --> 00:05:19,080 redeploy them into the Baltic region , 125 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,191 but we can get you a better answer on 126 00:05:21,191 --> 00:05:23,358 that . I don't have , I don't have the 127 00:05:23,358 --> 00:05:23,070 exact locations with me today , but 128 00:05:23,070 --> 00:05:25,237 this is not new . This is something we 129 00:05:25,237 --> 00:05:27,570 talked about at the end of the exercise . 130 00:05:27,570 --> 00:05:29,514 Thanks sean . I want to pull up on 131 00:05:29,514 --> 00:05:31,514 address this question to the extent 132 00:05:31,514 --> 00:05:33,570 that you can , why do you think that 133 00:05:33,570 --> 00:05:35,737 mary apple is potentially in danger of 134 00:05:35,737 --> 00:05:38,690 falling where Kiev held ? And was the 135 00:05:38,690 --> 00:05:41,280 pentagon ever able to get weapons to 136 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:43,391 Mario people much like it was able to 137 00:05:43,391 --> 00:05:46,160 get fortified defenses to keep in time . 138 00:05:47,140 --> 00:05:51,140 Were we able to get us able to any of 139 00:05:51,140 --> 00:05:53,307 the weapons shipments that went in the 140 00:05:53,307 --> 00:05:55,029 security assistance . We don't 141 00:05:55,029 --> 00:05:57,196 designate where the Ukrainians use the 142 00:05:57,196 --> 00:05:59,251 systems that they're getting from us 143 00:05:59,251 --> 00:06:01,307 and from many other nations , we get 144 00:06:01,307 --> 00:06:04,660 them into Ukraine . We we uh , the 145 00:06:04,670 --> 00:06:07,310 Ukrainian armed forces literally drive 146 00:06:07,310 --> 00:06:09,366 them in and where they drive them to 147 00:06:09,366 --> 00:06:11,477 and and and and how they're applied . 148 00:06:11,477 --> 00:06:13,588 That's up to Ukrainian armed forces . 149 00:06:13,588 --> 00:06:15,960 It's not , we're not we don't we don't 150 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:17,904 get to decide and we don't dictate 151 00:06:17,904 --> 00:06:20,127 where our security assistance is used . 152 00:06:20,127 --> 00:06:22,293 That's really up to the Ukrainian . So 153 00:06:22,293 --> 00:06:24,516 I can't answer that question . Only the 154 00:06:24,516 --> 00:06:26,516 Ukrainian Ministry of Defense could 155 00:06:26,516 --> 00:06:28,460 answer the question about how much 156 00:06:28,460 --> 00:06:30,627 security assistance that were provided 157 00:06:30,627 --> 00:06:33,160 to them was is and has been used um 158 00:06:34,110 --> 00:06:37,750 in uh in Mario opal . And look , I 159 00:06:37,750 --> 00:06:41,430 mean , um I can't 160 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,320 speak with great specificity as to why 161 00:06:45,330 --> 00:06:47,910 they had a harder time in in Kiev than 162 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:49,920 than they appear to be having in in 163 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:51,920 Mario opal . And then there are two 164 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:53,920 different cities , uh two different 165 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,380 geography ease uh two different levels 166 00:06:56,380 --> 00:06:58,602 of effort by by the Russians and by the 167 00:06:58,602 --> 00:07:01,530 Ukrainians . The point is uh it is a 168 00:07:01,530 --> 00:07:04,910 strategic city for the Ukrainians to um 169 00:07:04,910 --> 00:07:06,966 and they continue to fight over it . 170 00:07:06,966 --> 00:07:09,021 And again we we continue to maintain 171 00:07:09,021 --> 00:07:11,750 that it's that it's contested . Yeah . 172 00:07:12,580 --> 00:07:14,640 A defense official today said the US 173 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:16,307 provide useful information to 174 00:07:16,307 --> 00:07:18,780 Ukrainians to defend themselves . I've 175 00:07:18,780 --> 00:07:22,300 said that myself , strangers are 176 00:07:22,300 --> 00:07:25,060 massing tanks and artillery to east to 177 00:07:25,070 --> 00:07:28,740 Donbas area . We we saw them in the 178 00:07:28,740 --> 00:07:31,310 previous six weeks , they have waged a 179 00:07:31,310 --> 00:07:33,477 successful insurgency against Russians 180 00:07:33,477 --> 00:07:35,032 but now they are going to a 181 00:07:35,032 --> 00:07:37,440 conventional phase to face kind of 182 00:07:37,450 --> 00:07:39,640 fight against Russians . Do you think 183 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,760 it's logical or wise militarily to go 184 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:44,720 against Russians into like a 185 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:46,553 conventional , in a conventional 186 00:07:46,553 --> 00:07:48,720 information . You're asking me to give 187 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:50,942 a report card to your assessment of the 188 00:07:50,942 --> 00:07:53,053 Ukrainian military strategy . I'm not 189 00:07:53,053 --> 00:07:55,276 going to do that and we're not going to 190 00:07:55,276 --> 00:07:57,164 talk about how the Ukrainians are 191 00:07:57,164 --> 00:07:59,387 deploying and using their forces or the 192 00:07:59,387 --> 00:08:01,442 systems and security assistance that 193 00:08:01,442 --> 00:08:03,664 they've been getting that's for them to 194 00:08:03,664 --> 00:08:05,831 decide and for them to speak to If and 195 00:08:05,831 --> 00:08:05,260 when they're ready to speak to it , 196 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:07,784 they continue to fight bravely for 197 00:08:07,784 --> 00:08:09,896 their country . We continue to try to 198 00:08:09,896 --> 00:08:11,729 support their efforts to do that 199 00:08:11,729 --> 00:08:13,951 through truly an unprecedented level of 200 00:08:13,951 --> 00:08:16,610 speed . Um and and that's what , that's 201 00:08:16,610 --> 00:08:19,380 what we're gonna focus on . Also . Of 202 00:08:19,380 --> 00:08:21,430 course , I know that Ukrainians are 203 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,650 taking care of the security assistance 204 00:08:23,650 --> 00:08:25,810 that you are providing . Do you track 205 00:08:25,820 --> 00:08:27,960 if the security assistance that you 206 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,016 provided is being transferred to the 207 00:08:30,016 --> 00:08:32,860 east ? And is it that kind of 208 00:08:33,950 --> 00:08:36,180 No , we we get this stuff into 209 00:08:36,180 --> 00:08:38,940 Ukrainian hands and we know that's 210 00:08:38,940 --> 00:08:40,662 happening . Minister Reznikoff 211 00:08:40,662 --> 00:08:43,470 confirmed that again today . Uh but 212 00:08:43,470 --> 00:08:45,880 what they , it's it's that it belongs 213 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:47,936 to them at that point and where they 214 00:08:47,936 --> 00:08:50,230 decided to employ it , how they employ 215 00:08:50,230 --> 00:08:52,810 it with what units they provided that 216 00:08:52,810 --> 00:08:55,032 that is that is a Ukrainian decision to 217 00:08:55,032 --> 00:08:57,370 make . We respect of course , their 218 00:08:57,380 --> 00:08:58,936 their their right and their 219 00:08:58,936 --> 00:09:02,090 responsibility to manage that . That 220 00:09:02,090 --> 00:09:04,650 assistance the way they see fit . It's 221 00:09:04,650 --> 00:09:06,706 up to them to decide . Yeah , in the 222 00:09:06,706 --> 00:09:08,620 back there . Thanks . Who are you 223 00:09:08,630 --> 00:09:10,519 Valerie and scented with breaking 224 00:09:10,519 --> 00:09:13,440 defense . Nice to nice to see you . Um 225 00:09:13,450 --> 00:09:15,617 sorry to take focus away from europe . 226 00:09:15,617 --> 00:09:17,980 But Sankei shimbun , a Japanese 227 00:09:17,980 --> 00:09:21,170 newspaper is reporting that the US UK 228 00:09:21,170 --> 00:09:23,260 and Australia have informally asked 229 00:09:23,260 --> 00:09:25,650 Japan to become part of august , can 230 00:09:25,650 --> 00:09:28,860 you confirm that report at all ? Not at 231 00:09:28,870 --> 00:09:31,140 first I heard of it . Okay then , if I 232 00:09:31,140 --> 00:09:35,000 could ask about Um about Europe 233 00:09:35,010 --> 00:09:37,177 Slovakia is considering giving its mid 234 00:09:37,177 --> 00:09:40,390 29th to Ukraine , is there any talks um 235 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,810 within the us about potentially 236 00:09:42,810 --> 00:09:45,680 speeding up the delivery of its F 237 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,650 sixteen's to Slovakia ? I've heard 238 00:09:49,650 --> 00:09:52,620 some reports about this , this 239 00:09:52,630 --> 00:09:55,190 potential Slovakian decision . I don't 240 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,033 we don't have anything on that . 241 00:09:57,033 --> 00:09:59,033 Certainly we would refer you to the 242 00:09:59,033 --> 00:10:01,640 government there uh in bratislava to 243 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,430 speak to that . That's really again , 244 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,662 if that's true , that's a decision that 245 00:10:06,662 --> 00:10:08,718 only they can speak to . And I'm not 246 00:10:08,718 --> 00:10:08,560 aware of any discussions about 247 00:10:08,940 --> 00:10:12,860 Accelerating um F16 sales as a 248 00:10:12,860 --> 00:10:14,890 result of this ? I mean , I just I 249 00:10:14,900 --> 00:10:17,233 don't have anything on that ? I'm sorry , 250 00:10:17,233 --> 00:10:18,233 Barbara Starr . 251 00:10:21,940 --> 00:10:23,930 Um I wanted to follow up on your 252 00:10:23,930 --> 00:10:27,650 statement last night about reports of 253 00:10:27,660 --> 00:10:29,710 chemical munitions used by by the 254 00:10:29,710 --> 00:10:31,900 Russians and Mario Puzo . And you said 255 00:10:31,900 --> 00:10:34,540 in that statement that you've had that 256 00:10:34,540 --> 00:10:38,460 the US has had concerns about Russia 257 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:41,620 potentially miss mixing riot control 258 00:10:41,620 --> 00:10:44,450 agents tear gassed with chemical agents . 259 00:10:44,460 --> 00:10:48,270 Can you give us a bit more of 260 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,510 the U . S . Assessment on that ? Is 261 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:55,050 there something um you know , 262 00:10:55,060 --> 00:10:58,040 relatively new that you've been 263 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,610 tracking since the invasion and all the 264 00:11:01,620 --> 00:11:05,190 um aggressive action by 265 00:11:05,190 --> 00:11:08,220 Russia . Is this more something that 266 00:11:08,220 --> 00:11:10,780 you've been seeing for some time ? Can 267 00:11:10,780 --> 00:11:12,391 you give us some context and 268 00:11:12,391 --> 00:11:14,447 perspective on this notion that they 269 00:11:14,447 --> 00:11:18,040 may be mixing up their own version of 270 00:11:18,050 --> 00:11:20,800 chemical agents . Well look , I think 271 00:11:20,810 --> 00:11:22,866 as you know , we have tried to share 272 00:11:22,866 --> 00:11:26,860 with you um intelligence that that that 273 00:11:26,870 --> 00:11:29,570 that we , uh that we see , and we feel 274 00:11:29,570 --> 00:11:31,514 that we can , that we can , and we 275 00:11:31,514 --> 00:11:34,820 should make make public and and this is 276 00:11:34,820 --> 00:11:36,550 something we have , um , 277 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,610 we have had justified reason to be 278 00:11:40,610 --> 00:11:44,560 concerned about that , that than in 279 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:47,090 the prosecution of this war . That this 280 00:11:47,090 --> 00:11:49,201 could be a tactic they might employ . 281 00:11:49,201 --> 00:11:53,160 Which is to to um , to try 282 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,270 to mask a potential more serious 283 00:11:55,270 --> 00:11:58,640 chemical attack with with riot control 284 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,360 agents . Um , um , again , it comes 285 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,860 from a mosaic of , of information we've 286 00:12:04,860 --> 00:12:07,540 gleaned . Um , it's uh , it's related 287 00:12:07,540 --> 00:12:11,240 more to or to to what um , is unfolding 288 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,860 in Ukraine rather than some , you know , 289 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:16,351 long historical practice . Although I 290 00:12:16,351 --> 00:12:18,184 would add that the Russians have 291 00:12:18,184 --> 00:12:20,300 certainly proven more than willing to 292 00:12:20,300 --> 00:12:23,590 use uh chemical weapons when it suited 293 00:12:23,590 --> 00:12:25,423 them in the past . And this is a 294 00:12:25,423 --> 00:12:28,120 military that has a history here , but 295 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,176 it's more related to what we've been 296 00:12:30,176 --> 00:12:34,010 picking up in terms of in 297 00:12:34,010 --> 00:12:36,066 terms of the invasion of Ukraine . I 298 00:12:36,066 --> 00:12:38,177 want to add the barb . Um , as I also 299 00:12:38,177 --> 00:12:40,343 said in that statement last night that 300 00:12:40,343 --> 00:12:43,350 we cannot confirm these reports of the 301 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,151 that that that have been emanating on 302 00:12:46,151 --> 00:12:48,373 social media about the use of potential 303 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,160 chemical agents uh through 304 00:12:52,170 --> 00:12:54,650 I think social media reporting was 305 00:12:54,660 --> 00:12:56,882 through the use of a drone or something 306 00:12:56,882 --> 00:12:59,104 like that . And we just are not able to 307 00:12:59,104 --> 00:13:01,271 confirm it . We're obviously taking it 308 00:13:01,271 --> 00:13:03,271 seriously and we're monitoring it . 309 00:13:03,271 --> 00:13:05,382 We're trying to do the best we can to 310 00:13:05,382 --> 00:13:07,716 to figure out what if anything happened . 311 00:13:07,716 --> 00:13:07,450 But we're not in a position to confirm 312 00:13:07,450 --> 00:13:09,730 it right now . Yeah . 313 00:13:11,940 --> 00:13:14,450 Um Ask you about the 314 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,960 The botched US Airstrike in August and 315 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:20,710 Kabul that killed 10 Afghans including 316 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,430 Children . Um You had said before that 317 00:13:23,430 --> 00:13:25,780 it was the duties intention to 318 00:13:25,790 --> 00:13:28,750 compensate family members or 319 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:30,816 potentially bring them to the United 320 00:13:30,816 --> 00:13:32,927 States and we haven't gotten any kind 321 00:13:32,927 --> 00:13:35,038 of substantial update on that for for 322 00:13:35,038 --> 00:13:37,260 months . Should we assume at this point 323 00:13:37,740 --> 00:13:41,060 that those efforts have failed ? No 324 00:13:42,340 --> 00:13:44,560 carla if I could follow up 325 00:13:45,830 --> 00:13:48,560 obviously this Secretary of Defense has 326 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:50,960 initiated this review of policies on 327 00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:55,040 civilian casualties . Are these types 328 00:13:55,050 --> 00:13:58,260 of efforts to pay um 329 00:13:58,940 --> 00:14:01,400 victims or family members of victims ? 330 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,344 Is that going to be a part of this 331 00:14:03,344 --> 00:14:05,678 process ? Review process . And that's D . 332 00:14:05,678 --> 00:14:07,567 O . D . Looking to come up with a 333 00:14:07,567 --> 00:14:09,789 better way that allows it to make these 334 00:14:09,789 --> 00:14:11,789 types of payments because obviously 335 00:14:11,789 --> 00:14:13,844 you're gonna be talking about the ex 336 00:14:13,844 --> 00:14:15,844 gratia payments . Uh Look um as you 337 00:14:15,844 --> 00:14:18,000 know we do have a process in place . 338 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,230 Now the Secretary step of civilian harm 339 00:14:21,230 --> 00:14:24,290 and mitigation response program . Uh 340 00:14:24,290 --> 00:14:26,512 huh . They're gonna look at the panoply 341 00:14:26,512 --> 00:14:28,540 of things that we do or don't do as 342 00:14:28,540 --> 00:14:30,660 well as we should to avoid civilian 343 00:14:30,660 --> 00:14:33,860 harm . Um And uh I don't 344 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,720 I don't know to what degree they're 345 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:38,942 gonna look at the value of X crash your 346 00:14:38,942 --> 00:14:40,998 payments but I would certainly think 347 00:14:40,998 --> 00:14:40,980 that that would factor into their 348 00:14:40,980 --> 00:14:42,980 decision making in terms of lessons 349 00:14:42,980 --> 00:14:45,036 learned and well maybe we need to do 350 00:14:45,036 --> 00:14:47,202 better or do more of or do less of , I 351 00:14:47,202 --> 00:14:50,960 don't know . Um , so I would say yes in 352 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,940 terms of the umbrella of things that uh , 353 00:14:53,950 --> 00:14:55,950 that that group is going to look at 354 00:14:55,950 --> 00:14:58,172 extradition payments will will probably 355 00:14:58,172 --> 00:15:00,228 be a part of that . But they're just 356 00:15:00,228 --> 00:15:02,450 now starting their work interestingly . 357 00:15:02,450 --> 00:15:04,506 I mean , I'm actually , I'm glad you 358 00:15:04,506 --> 00:15:06,728 asked the question because it's um , it 359 00:15:06,728 --> 00:15:10,140 is still relevant to us . Um , and for 360 00:15:10,140 --> 00:15:12,307 a lot of reasons , not just about what 361 00:15:12,307 --> 00:15:14,473 happened at the end of august and no , 362 00:15:14,473 --> 00:15:16,418 we don't have an update on the the 363 00:15:16,418 --> 00:15:18,640 Ahmadi family . But I can tell you , we 364 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:20,862 haven't given up on this idea of trying 365 00:15:20,862 --> 00:15:20,270 to get them back to the United States 366 00:15:20,270 --> 00:15:21,992 and certainly do right by them 367 00:15:21,992 --> 00:15:23,992 financially , that process is still 368 00:15:23,992 --> 00:15:26,103 working and we're very actively going 369 00:15:26,103 --> 00:15:28,214 after that . I know there's not a lot 370 00:15:28,214 --> 00:15:30,437 of progress to show you right now , but 371 00:15:30,437 --> 00:15:29,630 it doesn't mean that there isn't a lot 372 00:15:29,630 --> 00:15:32,010 of work being done . That's a 373 00:15:32,010 --> 00:15:33,954 difference right there between the 374 00:15:33,954 --> 00:15:36,288 United States and a country like Russia , 375 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,670 we actually take it seriously . We 376 00:15:38,670 --> 00:15:41,070 actually mourn the deaths that we cause 377 00:15:41,290 --> 00:15:43,790 and while we're not perfect in terms of 378 00:15:43,790 --> 00:15:45,734 how we've investigated them or how 379 00:15:45,734 --> 00:15:47,650 we've talked about them , we do 380 00:15:48,140 --> 00:15:50,310 investigate them and we do talk about 381 00:15:50,310 --> 00:15:52,477 them sometimes we have to be driven to 382 00:15:52,477 --> 00:15:54,421 a better answer sometimes by media 383 00:15:54,421 --> 00:15:56,421 coverage , but at least we stand up 384 00:15:56,421 --> 00:15:58,754 here and we take the questions about it , 385 00:15:58,754 --> 00:16:00,866 it matters to us , and we actually do 386 00:16:00,866 --> 00:16:03,032 want to get better at it . Uh , and we 387 00:16:03,032 --> 00:16:04,921 acknowledge that we're not always 388 00:16:04,921 --> 00:16:06,810 perfect when it comes to civilian 389 00:16:06,810 --> 00:16:08,921 casualties . Lots of in our armor and 390 00:16:08,921 --> 00:16:11,160 well , and and we admit that . What do 391 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:13,216 you hear out of the Russians today ? 392 00:16:13,216 --> 00:16:15,327 What do you hear out of Moscow ? What 393 00:16:15,327 --> 00:16:15,170 do you hear about Putin ? Just just 394 00:16:15,170 --> 00:16:17,960 last night . It's it's it's the west . 395 00:16:18,340 --> 00:16:21,220 We're we're throwing bodies on the 396 00:16:21,220 --> 00:16:23,331 street and making it look like it was 397 00:16:23,331 --> 00:16:25,331 an attack by the Russians . Um , no 398 00:16:25,331 --> 00:16:27,553 acknowledgement that they have caused a 399 00:16:27,553 --> 00:16:29,730 single civilian death and certainly no 400 00:16:29,730 --> 00:16:31,800 remorse . Certainly no talk about 401 00:16:31,810 --> 00:16:34,030 investigating it or owning up to it or 402 00:16:34,030 --> 00:16:36,240 making right by it or trying to learn 403 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:37,962 lessons from it . That's a big 404 00:16:37,962 --> 00:16:40,073 difference here . And unfortunately , 405 00:16:40,073 --> 00:16:42,073 it's the it's the people of Ukraine 406 00:16:42,073 --> 00:16:44,351 that are paying the price for Russians , 407 00:16:44,351 --> 00:16:48,160 complete disregard for the the right of 408 00:16:48,540 --> 00:16:50,707 innocent civilians to live their lives 409 00:16:50,707 --> 00:16:52,762 freely without having to worry about 410 00:16:52,762 --> 00:16:56,120 being killed . Come on , I just want to 411 00:16:56,130 --> 00:16:58,186 follow up on what Barbara was asking 412 00:16:58,186 --> 00:17:00,241 about , but not specifically to mary 413 00:17:00,241 --> 00:17:02,241 Apple , because I know you have you 414 00:17:02,241 --> 00:17:04,186 can't confirm the chemical weapons 415 00:17:04,186 --> 00:17:06,241 attack . And so I don't want to do a 416 00:17:06,241 --> 00:17:08,297 hypothetical , but just if you could 417 00:17:08,297 --> 00:17:10,408 give us some understanding in general 418 00:17:10,408 --> 00:17:10,300 of the considerations that the 419 00:17:10,300 --> 00:17:13,260 administration is taking in preparing 420 00:17:13,260 --> 00:17:15,510 for response to a chemical weapons 421 00:17:15,510 --> 00:17:17,510 attack ? Like can you tell me if it 422 00:17:17,510 --> 00:17:19,566 will , if the scale of the attack is 423 00:17:19,566 --> 00:17:21,621 going to determine that , or if it's 424 00:17:21,621 --> 00:17:23,788 going to be the type of chemical agent 425 00:17:23,788 --> 00:17:25,788 used ? What are some of the thought 426 00:17:25,788 --> 00:17:25,600 processes that you guys are going 427 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,110 through when you weigh response to 428 00:17:28,110 --> 00:17:30,443 chemical attack ? It won't surprise you , 429 00:17:30,443 --> 00:17:32,554 Carla . I'm not gonna get ahead of of 430 00:17:32,554 --> 00:17:34,499 where things are right now . We're 431 00:17:34,499 --> 00:17:36,610 reviewing this , we're doing the best 432 00:17:36,610 --> 00:17:38,777 we can to analyze it . We don't have a 433 00:17:38,777 --> 00:17:40,610 definitive conclusion one way or 434 00:17:40,610 --> 00:17:42,777 another . And I think I just need to I 435 00:17:42,777 --> 00:17:42,430 think we just need to talk about where 436 00:17:42,430 --> 00:17:44,541 things are and not where things might 437 00:17:44,541 --> 00:17:47,070 be in the future . Uh the president has 438 00:17:47,070 --> 00:17:49,600 been very clear and he's talked about 439 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:51,600 this on numerous occasions , as has 440 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:53,670 Secretary Austin , that uh you know 441 00:17:53,670 --> 00:17:55,503 that the the use of bio chemical 442 00:17:55,503 --> 00:17:57,614 weapons against the people of Ukraine 443 00:17:57,614 --> 00:17:59,726 would elicit a response not just from 444 00:17:59,726 --> 00:17:59,680 the United States , but from the 445 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:01,569 international community what that 446 00:18:01,569 --> 00:18:04,480 response would look like Um from us or 447 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:06,647 from anybody else . We just don't know 448 00:18:06,647 --> 00:18:08,813 right now . And I don't think it would 449 00:18:08,813 --> 00:18:10,924 be helpful for us to try to get ahead 450 00:18:10,924 --> 00:18:12,924 of where we are right right at this 451 00:18:12,924 --> 00:18:15,147 moment . Okay . I know it's not a great 452 00:18:15,147 --> 00:18:14,560 satisfying answer , but but it's a 453 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,070 truthful one . Virginia Lawmaker 454 00:18:17,070 --> 00:18:19,237 announced he was going to resign today 455 00:18:19,237 --> 00:18:21,403 over some comments he made on Facebook 456 00:18:21,403 --> 00:18:23,403 recently . Some really horrifically 457 00:18:23,403 --> 00:18:25,292 racist comments he made about the 458 00:18:25,292 --> 00:18:27,514 secretary . Does the secretary have any 459 00:18:27,514 --> 00:18:29,570 response to that situation or to his 460 00:18:29,570 --> 00:18:31,514 resignation or to the , you know , 461 00:18:31,514 --> 00:18:33,570 having to field those comments while 462 00:18:33,570 --> 00:18:35,626 he's trying to work on diversity and 463 00:18:35,626 --> 00:18:37,737 inclusion initiatives here . Yeah , I 464 00:18:37,737 --> 00:18:41,730 uh , uh , I think where I put 465 00:18:41,730 --> 00:18:45,700 this is just the secretary is very 466 00:18:45,700 --> 00:18:48,150 proud of his service to the country , 467 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:52,760 proud of His ability as an 468 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,230 American to to go to West Point to 469 00:18:55,230 --> 00:18:57,360 become an army officer to serve this 470 00:18:57,360 --> 00:19:00,430 country uh in combat for much of the 471 00:19:00,430 --> 00:19:02,763 last 20 years . And he's certainly very , 472 00:19:02,763 --> 00:19:04,874 very proud of his ability to lead the 473 00:19:04,874 --> 00:19:07,097 department here at uh , as secretary of 474 00:19:07,097 --> 00:19:10,310 defense . Um , it People matter greatly 475 00:19:10,310 --> 00:19:12,254 to him . I've known the man for 15 476 00:19:12,254 --> 00:19:15,840 years . Everybody matters to him . 477 00:19:15,850 --> 00:19:17,906 Um , no matter who you are , nowhere 478 00:19:17,906 --> 00:19:19,961 where you came from , no matter what 479 00:19:19,961 --> 00:19:22,072 your background is . He believes that 480 00:19:22,072 --> 00:19:24,072 if you're qualified and you want to 481 00:19:24,072 --> 00:19:26,294 serve this country , you should be able 482 00:19:26,294 --> 00:19:28,350 to do it and you'll be able to do it 483 00:19:28,350 --> 00:19:30,239 without fear of discrimination or 484 00:19:30,239 --> 00:19:32,940 harassment . Um , and in his view , 485 00:19:32,950 --> 00:19:35,061 there's no place in the Department of 486 00:19:35,061 --> 00:19:38,370 Defense for comments like that for for 487 00:19:38,380 --> 00:19:40,630 uh for the actions that come from 488 00:19:40,630 --> 00:19:43,420 comments like that . Um , and that's 489 00:19:43,420 --> 00:19:45,587 why he's working and continues to work 490 00:19:45,587 --> 00:19:48,750 so hard um , to to continue to improve 491 00:19:48,750 --> 00:19:50,861 the readiness of the force , which he 492 00:19:50,861 --> 00:19:52,694 believes is directly tied to our 493 00:19:52,694 --> 00:19:54,750 diversity . That that's a , that's a 494 00:19:54,750 --> 00:19:54,320 part of who we are . It's one of the 495 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:56,264 things that makes this military so 496 00:19:56,264 --> 00:19:59,360 great . And so , um , he's , 497 00:20:00,540 --> 00:20:03,810 and even in light of of of those 498 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:08,150 um , truly 499 00:20:08,150 --> 00:20:10,850 irresponsible , mean spirited , 500 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:15,120 um , indeed wicked comments . He's 501 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:17,270 going to be focused on leading the 502 00:20:17,270 --> 00:20:20,170 department forward and , and uh , and 503 00:20:20,180 --> 00:20:22,013 and trying to continue to set an 504 00:20:22,013 --> 00:20:24,069 example going forward . That's where 505 00:20:24,069 --> 00:20:26,124 his head is . Yeah , I already got , 506 00:20:26,124 --> 00:20:28,310 you know , I can get you later , 507 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:31,760 heather . Thank you so much . I was 508 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:33,927 wondering if you could talk about um , 509 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,010 the maritime effects on variable , if 510 00:20:37,010 --> 00:20:39,010 you're seeing any strikes coming in 511 00:20:39,010 --> 00:20:42,620 from ships in the sea , um , as they 512 00:20:42,620 --> 00:20:45,800 continue to bombard variable . I don't 513 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,630 have perfect the knowledge of every 514 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:53,260 missile or long range fire that the 515 00:20:53,270 --> 00:20:55,381 Russians are firing into Mario opal . 516 00:20:55,381 --> 00:20:57,670 It continues to be under attack from , 517 00:20:57,680 --> 00:20:59,791 from airstrikes . We've seen that the 518 00:20:59,791 --> 00:21:01,736 Russians have focused a lot of the 519 00:21:01,736 --> 00:21:04,280 airstrikes on Mario pole and on the 520 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,058 Donbass area , that's where the 521 00:21:06,058 --> 00:21:08,230 preponderance of their air activity 522 00:21:08,230 --> 00:21:10,230 seems to be centered . Um , We have 523 00:21:10,230 --> 00:21:12,330 seen in the past heather , I can't 524 00:21:12,330 --> 00:21:14,441 speak for like , you know today , but 525 00:21:14,441 --> 00:21:17,520 we have seen uh in in recent days and 526 00:21:17,530 --> 00:21:20,690 and weeks . Um , the Russians using 527 00:21:20,690 --> 00:21:22,857 their surface combatants in the sea of 528 00:21:22,857 --> 00:21:26,480 Azov to fire cruise missiles onto shore . 529 00:21:26,490 --> 00:21:29,010 Um , but I I couldn't tell you how many 530 00:21:29,010 --> 00:21:31,177 have landed , uh , you know , in Mario 531 00:21:31,177 --> 00:21:33,454 pole or what the specific targets were . 532 00:21:33,454 --> 00:21:35,390 But it is but it has been their 533 00:21:35,390 --> 00:21:37,930 practice to to supplement their air 534 00:21:37,930 --> 00:21:40,490 strike activity uh with with cruise 535 00:21:40,490 --> 00:21:42,657 missiles fired from surface combatants 536 00:21:42,657 --> 00:21:43,930 at sea . Yeah , 537 00:21:46,490 --> 00:21:49,450 one on India , one on Pakistan as far 538 00:21:49,450 --> 00:21:51,540 as India is concerned us India 539 00:21:51,540 --> 00:21:53,429 relations or military to military 540 00:21:53,429 --> 00:21:55,660 relations . We just had two plus two 541 00:21:56,350 --> 00:21:59,970 yesterday . Defense ministers and the 542 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,540 Foreign ministers of India were here 543 00:22:02,540 --> 00:22:04,930 and I met with Secretary Lloyd and also 544 00:22:04,930 --> 00:22:07,160 Secretary Blinken . So is there any 545 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,500 breakthrough with as far as US India 546 00:22:10,510 --> 00:22:12,454 military to military relations are 547 00:22:12,454 --> 00:22:14,800 concerned ? Because after the Ukraine , 548 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:17,270 what India was neutrally 549 00:22:18,130 --> 00:22:21,480 students at the U . N . I think . I 550 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,130 mean , so all the 551 00:22:25,130 --> 00:22:27,352 ministers had a chance to summarize the 552 00:22:27,352 --> 00:22:29,540 visit yesterday the meeting and I'd 553 00:22:29,540 --> 00:22:31,484 point you more specifically to the 554 00:22:31,484 --> 00:22:33,429 transcript of the press conference 555 00:22:33,429 --> 00:22:35,540 because I think they all talked about 556 00:22:35,540 --> 00:22:37,651 the things that they that they talked 557 00:22:37,651 --> 00:22:39,818 about . Uh Secretary was very proud to 558 00:22:39,818 --> 00:22:41,818 announce that we signed a new space 559 00:22:41,818 --> 00:22:43,873 situational awareness agreement with 560 00:22:43,873 --> 00:22:46,280 with India just yesterday . Um They he 561 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,280 had a chance to talk to the Defense 562 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,447 Minister , Defense Minister sing about 563 00:22:50,447 --> 00:22:52,613 advanced capabilities and technologies 564 00:22:52,613 --> 00:22:54,724 working with them on a I for instance 565 00:22:54,724 --> 00:22:56,447 and five G and space and cyber 566 00:22:56,447 --> 00:22:58,724 capabilities . All that was part of it . 567 00:22:58,724 --> 00:23:00,724 I um I'll leave it to you to decide 568 00:23:00,724 --> 00:23:03,002 whether those are breakthroughs or not . 569 00:23:03,002 --> 00:23:05,113 But clearly what we saw yesterday was 570 00:23:05,113 --> 00:23:07,058 more concrete examples of the ways 571 00:23:07,058 --> 00:23:06,790 we're going to continue to work with 572 00:23:06,790 --> 00:23:08,740 India to strengthen this defense 573 00:23:08,740 --> 00:23:10,962 partnership . And you heard the Foreign 574 00:23:10,962 --> 00:23:14,100 minister speak for his country's uh 575 00:23:14,110 --> 00:23:16,190 views and policies with respect to 576 00:23:16,190 --> 00:23:18,246 Ukraine , I'd leave it , leave it at 577 00:23:18,246 --> 00:23:20,468 that and point you to the transcript on 578 00:23:20,468 --> 00:23:22,690 that . I think he was very candid about 579 00:23:22,690 --> 00:23:24,579 about their own concern about the 580 00:23:24,579 --> 00:23:27,230 conflict going on in Ukraine any new 581 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:29,240 agreement as far as the military to 582 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,660 military with India yesterday . And 583 00:23:31,660 --> 00:23:34,370 also , if Secretary Secretary of 584 00:23:34,370 --> 00:23:36,860 Defense is going soon to India , I 585 00:23:36,860 --> 00:23:39,193 don't have any travel to announce today , 586 00:23:39,193 --> 00:23:41,138 oil . But in terms of , you know , 587 00:23:41,138 --> 00:23:42,804 specific military to military 588 00:23:42,804 --> 00:23:44,860 agreements . I mean , again , take a 589 00:23:44,860 --> 00:23:47,082 look at the space situational awareness 590 00:23:47,082 --> 00:23:48,916 uh agreement that we signed just 591 00:23:48,916 --> 00:23:48,570 yesterday . So yeah , there was 592 00:23:48,570 --> 00:23:50,792 something new yesterday and it was that 593 00:23:50,792 --> 00:23:52,737 agreement and the Secretary talked 594 00:23:52,737 --> 00:23:54,848 about that and we're very proud of it 595 00:23:54,848 --> 00:23:57,070 and looking forward to to to working on 596 00:23:57,070 --> 00:23:59,181 space situational awareness with with 597 00:23:59,181 --> 00:24:00,959 India going forward . Crisis in 598 00:24:00,959 --> 00:24:03,126 Pakistan is concerned . Now , Pakistan 599 00:24:03,126 --> 00:24:05,070 has a new Prime Minister , Shahbaz 600 00:24:05,070 --> 00:24:07,070 Sharif , of course , the brother of 601 00:24:07,070 --> 00:24:10,770 ousted Prime Minister , Mr Sharif and 602 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:13,607 Prime Minister , former Prime Minister 603 00:24:13,607 --> 00:24:16,830 imran Khan until the end of his ousted 604 00:24:16,830 --> 00:24:20,300 by the parliament was blaming us and 605 00:24:20,300 --> 00:24:22,460 the US military for his ousted . My 606 00:24:22,460 --> 00:24:25,450 question is if anybody is in touch with 607 00:24:25,450 --> 00:24:28,170 the military to military in Pakistan or 608 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,120 his claims that the U . S . Is 609 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:33,730 responsible for his ousted and now the 610 00:24:33,740 --> 00:24:36,410 future of US Pakistan relations under 611 00:24:36,410 --> 00:24:38,710 the new leadership . I think you can 612 00:24:38,710 --> 00:24:40,766 understand that . We're not going to 613 00:24:40,766 --> 00:24:42,932 comment about domestic politics inside 614 00:24:42,932 --> 00:24:46,930 Pakistan oil . Um uh I don't 615 00:24:46,930 --> 00:24:48,986 have any conversations with with the 616 00:24:48,986 --> 00:24:51,390 new prime minister or or or his 617 00:24:51,390 --> 00:24:53,612 government to speak to today . I mean , 618 00:24:53,612 --> 00:24:56,590 obviously all just happened . Um we 619 00:24:56,590 --> 00:25:00,040 recognize that the Pakistan plays a key 620 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,500 role in the region . We recognize that 621 00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:05,150 Pakistan and the Pakistani people are 622 00:25:05,150 --> 00:25:08,900 themselves victims of terrorist attacks 623 00:25:08,910 --> 00:25:11,670 inside their own country . We recognize 624 00:25:11,670 --> 00:25:13,614 that we have shared interests with 625 00:25:13,614 --> 00:25:15,726 Pakistan with respect to security and 626 00:25:15,726 --> 00:25:17,837 stability in that part of the world . 627 00:25:17,837 --> 00:25:21,700 And we we do have a healthy military to 628 00:25:21,700 --> 00:25:23,950 military relationship with Pakistani 629 00:25:23,950 --> 00:25:25,783 armed forces . And we have every 630 00:25:25,783 --> 00:25:27,894 expectation that that will be able to 631 00:25:27,894 --> 00:25:30,117 continue to be the case . And finally , 632 00:25:30,117 --> 00:25:32,006 because crisis still going on the 633 00:25:32,006 --> 00:25:34,172 streets with the former prime minister 634 00:25:34,172 --> 00:25:37,730 and also with his very large crowd of 635 00:25:37,730 --> 00:25:41,150 supporters and military may 636 00:25:41,310 --> 00:25:44,550 intervene because of those things going 637 00:25:44,550 --> 00:25:47,450 on is us ready in any case , if 638 00:25:47,460 --> 00:25:49,793 something like this happens in Pakistan , 639 00:25:49,793 --> 00:25:51,849 I don't foresee any U . S . Military 640 00:25:51,849 --> 00:25:54,071 role here . And I'm certainly not gonna 641 00:25:54,071 --> 00:25:57,470 again wade into internal domestic 642 00:25:57,470 --> 00:25:59,830 politics in Pakistan . Yeah . 643 00:26:00,650 --> 00:26:04,590 Hey , good to see you . Um , how 644 00:26:04,590 --> 00:26:07,260 much have duty stocks of switchblade 645 00:26:07,260 --> 00:26:09,371 drones been drawn down as a result of 646 00:26:09,371 --> 00:26:11,538 the security assistance to Ukraine and 647 00:26:11,538 --> 00:26:13,482 what plans are in place to replace 648 00:26:13,482 --> 00:26:16,070 those . Yeah , I'm as I have with other 649 00:26:16,070 --> 00:26:17,903 systems . I'm not gonna get into 650 00:26:17,903 --> 00:26:21,320 quantifying the impact on our stocks . 651 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,264 I would just tell you that this is 652 00:26:23,264 --> 00:26:25,320 something we're watching every day . 653 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,376 And Secretary is comfortable that uh 654 00:26:27,376 --> 00:26:29,487 that our own readiness across all the 655 00:26:29,487 --> 00:26:31,653 systems that were providing to Ukraine 656 00:26:31,653 --> 00:26:33,987 our own readiness has not been hampered . 657 00:26:33,987 --> 00:26:36,042 Um this was not a system that we had 658 00:26:36,042 --> 00:26:38,042 bought in large quantities . I will 659 00:26:38,042 --> 00:26:40,720 just go so far as to say that . Um but 660 00:26:40,730 --> 00:26:43,460 those 1st 100 have have been shipped , 661 00:26:43,460 --> 00:26:46,450 the vast vast vast majority , a 662 00:26:46,450 --> 00:26:49,250 significant number Of those 1st 100 we 663 00:26:49,250 --> 00:26:51,472 know have gotten into Ukraine I suspect 664 00:26:51,472 --> 00:26:53,750 the rest of it will not take very long . 665 00:26:53,750 --> 00:26:57,600 Um and I'm not gonna get ahead of of 666 00:26:57,980 --> 00:27:00,190 the potential for additional drawdown 667 00:27:00,190 --> 00:27:03,100 packages . But again President biden 668 00:27:03,100 --> 00:27:05,267 has been clear we're gonna we're gonna 669 00:27:05,267 --> 00:27:07,156 continue to look for ways to help 670 00:27:07,156 --> 00:27:09,322 Ukraine defend itself . So I certainly 671 00:27:09,322 --> 00:27:11,489 wouldn't rule out additional shipments 672 00:27:11,489 --> 00:27:11,480 of of those kinds of systems in the 673 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,100 future . Is D . O . D planning to buy 674 00:27:14,100 --> 00:27:16,044 more of those to replenish its own 675 00:27:16,044 --> 00:27:18,590 stocks . Yeah . Again I'm not gonna get 676 00:27:18,590 --> 00:27:20,990 into replenishment issues or supply 677 00:27:20,990 --> 00:27:23,212 issues on our own . I mean obviously we 678 00:27:23,212 --> 00:27:26,930 will do what we need to do uh to a help 679 00:27:26,930 --> 00:27:29,097 Ukraine continue to defend itself with 680 00:27:29,097 --> 00:27:31,152 systems we know that they can use or 681 00:27:31,152 --> 00:27:33,570 will use or are using and make sure 682 00:27:33,570 --> 00:27:35,514 that our own readiness also can be 683 00:27:35,514 --> 00:27:37,792 preserved across those systems as well . 684 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:41,450 Yeah . Real . Thank you . I want to 685 00:27:41,460 --> 00:27:43,571 follow up about the US India two plus 686 00:27:43,571 --> 00:27:46,070 two meeting secretly said yesterday 687 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,302 that you got a question yesterday but I 688 00:27:48,302 --> 00:27:52,150 have a secretary said 689 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,120 yesterday the U . S . Will consider a 690 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:57,980 range of options to make the US system 691 00:27:57,990 --> 00:27:59,910 the US military equipment more 692 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:02,180 affordable . Could you tell us a little 693 00:28:02,180 --> 00:28:05,290 bit specific about what system the 694 00:28:05,290 --> 00:28:07,890 Secretary has in his mind and how the U . 695 00:28:07,890 --> 00:28:11,660 S . Will make it more affordable ? No 696 00:28:12,020 --> 00:28:15,400 and no , I think we're going to have 697 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:17,456 these conversations with India going 698 00:28:17,456 --> 00:28:19,456 forward . I'm not going to get more 699 00:28:19,456 --> 00:28:21,233 specific than the secretary was 700 00:28:21,233 --> 00:28:23,360 yesterday . What matters here RIO is 701 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:25,249 that we have an important defense 702 00:28:25,249 --> 00:28:27,416 partnership with India and we're going 703 00:28:27,416 --> 00:28:29,638 to look for ways to continue to improve 704 00:28:29,638 --> 00:28:31,471 that going forward . But I'm not 705 00:28:31,471 --> 00:28:33,582 prepared to speak to specific systems 706 00:28:33,582 --> 00:28:35,749 or affordability at this time . We are 707 00:28:35,749 --> 00:28:37,693 committed to India's modernization 708 00:28:37,693 --> 00:28:40,910 needs their efforts to build uh and to 709 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:43,310 and to to feel the more modern military 710 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:45,773 we're committed to helping them do that . 711 00:28:45,810 --> 00:28:48,760 So do you consider acquiring the US 712 00:28:48,770 --> 00:28:51,430 missile defense system to India after 713 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,230 affordable price to encourage India to 714 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,544 I think I'm just going to leave it 715 00:28:56,544 --> 00:28:59,920 where we did yesterday . RIO , you know , 716 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:02,350 it didn't go out and come out while 717 00:29:02,350 --> 00:29:04,517 we're in the in the briefing yesterday 718 00:29:04,517 --> 00:29:06,770 and it says that the minister was able 719 00:29:06,770 --> 00:29:08,492 to share his assessment of the 720 00:29:08,492 --> 00:29:11,240 situation on the ground . But I'm just 721 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:12,962 curious do they also share any 722 00:29:12,962 --> 00:29:14,740 assessment about how Ukrainians 723 00:29:14,740 --> 00:29:16,962 fighting forces are continuing to do so 724 00:29:16,962 --> 00:29:19,184 much focus on the equipment that's been 725 00:29:19,184 --> 00:29:21,184 sent in . Are the forces , are they 726 00:29:21,184 --> 00:29:23,073 still able to go in with the same 727 00:29:23,073 --> 00:29:25,296 strength that they had at the beginning 728 00:29:25,296 --> 00:29:24,900 of the war ? Has there been any 729 00:29:25,250 --> 00:29:27,900 concerns that this fight , they won't 730 00:29:27,910 --> 00:29:30,430 have the the same manpower they did at 731 00:29:30,430 --> 00:29:32,500 the beginning ? Well , look , no 732 00:29:32,500 --> 00:29:34,389 question . They've taken losses , 733 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,170 losses to to troops , losses too . 734 00:29:39,030 --> 00:29:41,141 Systems and capabilities . There's no 735 00:29:41,141 --> 00:29:44,050 question this is war . Um , the 736 00:29:44,050 --> 00:29:47,100 Russians too have taken a not 737 00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:50,660 insignificant losses . Um , but 738 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,900 and I wont I don't want to get into 739 00:29:53,900 --> 00:29:56,011 more detail than the than the readout 740 00:29:56,011 --> 00:29:58,178 in terms of the discussion . But yes , 741 00:29:58,178 --> 00:30:00,400 of course , Minister Reznikoff gave the 742 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:02,178 secretary his assessment of the 743 00:30:02,178 --> 00:30:06,070 situation there and of uh , just 744 00:30:06,070 --> 00:30:09,160 in general terms how the Ukrainians 745 00:30:09,540 --> 00:30:12,190 responding themselves to this new focus 746 00:30:12,190 --> 00:30:14,246 by the Russians on the Donbas and in 747 00:30:14,246 --> 00:30:16,580 the south . Um , so the short answer to 748 00:30:16,580 --> 00:30:18,747 question is yes , that was part of the 749 00:30:18,747 --> 00:30:21,780 discussion . But um , I would just like 750 00:30:21,780 --> 00:30:25,570 to remind that and you certainly 751 00:30:25,570 --> 00:30:27,950 can't , you can't make up for the loss 752 00:30:27,950 --> 00:30:31,400 of a soldier or an individual civilian . 753 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:33,529 So many innocent people have been 754 00:30:33,529 --> 00:30:35,584 killed , you can't you can't replace 755 00:30:35,584 --> 00:30:37,751 that . You can't make up for that . Uh 756 00:30:37,751 --> 00:30:40,190 and uh and we grieve along with the 757 00:30:40,190 --> 00:30:42,190 families that are affected by those 758 00:30:42,190 --> 00:30:45,560 losses . But in in many , many cases 759 00:30:45,910 --> 00:30:49,170 you can help make up for inventory 760 00:30:49,180 --> 00:30:52,600 losses either through usage or damage 761 00:30:52,610 --> 00:30:56,140 uh or strikes by Russians , you can 762 00:30:56,140 --> 00:30:58,362 make up , we can and we are where every 763 00:30:58,362 --> 00:31:01,710 single day there are there are more 764 00:31:01,710 --> 00:31:03,821 weapons and more systems flowing into 765 00:31:03,821 --> 00:31:05,766 Ukraine and there are the kinds of 766 00:31:05,766 --> 00:31:07,599 weapons and systems that we know 767 00:31:07,599 --> 00:31:09,543 they're using . Minister Reznikoff 768 00:31:09,543 --> 00:31:11,654 reinforce that again today , it's the 769 00:31:11,654 --> 00:31:11,400 kind of things that they know how to 770 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:13,067 use or if they don't like the 771 00:31:13,067 --> 00:31:15,011 switchblade , we're getting them , 772 00:31:15,011 --> 00:31:17,067 we're getting them what they need to 773 00:31:17,067 --> 00:31:16,600 know to to use . That . It's not a very 774 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:18,767 complicated system , but we're getting 775 00:31:18,767 --> 00:31:20,822 there as fast as we can so that they 776 00:31:20,822 --> 00:31:23,044 can replenish and can stay in the fight 777 00:31:23,044 --> 00:31:25,156 and they have stayed in the fight . I 778 00:31:25,156 --> 00:31:27,490 mean , I understand we're as we should 779 00:31:27,490 --> 00:31:29,657 be rightly focused on what's happening 780 00:31:29,657 --> 00:31:31,990 in the Donbass in the south . But let's , 781 00:31:31,990 --> 00:31:34,212 you know , let's remember where we were 782 00:31:34,212 --> 00:31:36,157 just a few days ago when it wasn't 783 00:31:36,157 --> 00:31:38,323 clear how whether whether the Russians 784 00:31:38,323 --> 00:31:38,160 were really going to give up the 785 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:40,327 efforts to take care to heave and Kiev 786 00:31:40,327 --> 00:31:42,438 and leave . And they have , they have 787 00:31:42,438 --> 00:31:44,327 and that that's not by accident , 788 00:31:44,327 --> 00:31:46,382 that's not just due to the fact that 789 00:31:46,382 --> 00:31:48,382 the Russians uh failed on their own 790 00:31:48,382 --> 00:31:50,580 accord . And they did . It's also due 791 00:31:50,580 --> 00:31:52,780 to what the Ukrainians were able to do 792 00:31:52,780 --> 00:31:54,947 to defend their country and defend and 793 00:31:54,947 --> 00:31:57,113 defend their capital , to push back on 794 00:31:57,113 --> 00:31:59,169 the Russian advance , even attacking 795 00:31:59,169 --> 00:32:01,391 them as they were retreating . That too 796 00:32:01,391 --> 00:32:03,447 wasn't an accident that was born out 797 00:32:03,447 --> 00:32:05,613 from eight years of good training from 798 00:32:05,613 --> 00:32:07,780 the United States and the UK and other 799 00:32:07,780 --> 00:32:10,002 allies and the security assistance that 800 00:32:10,002 --> 00:32:09,800 they're that they're getting . So , um 801 00:32:09,810 --> 00:32:12,450 while certainly they are expending 802 00:32:12,470 --> 00:32:14,790 resources , we're doing the best 803 00:32:14,790 --> 00:32:17,020 weekend to to to fill that those 804 00:32:17,020 --> 00:32:19,020 coffers back up as fast as we can . 805 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:21,951 Okay , thanks , everybody got to go . 806 00:32:22,940 --> 00:32:23,170 Mhm .