WEBVTT

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Good afternoon everyone . And thanks

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for joining us today . We've just

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concluded our 9th meeting of the

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Ukraine Defense Contact group . I'd

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like to thank Ukrainian Minister of

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Defense Reznikoff and his team for once

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again joining us today . Now

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next week the world will mark a grim

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milestone . It will have been a year

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since Russia invaded its peaceful

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neighbor , Ukraine . Our

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hearts or with the families of all

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the Ukrainian soldiers killed and

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wounded , fighting to defend their

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country , their sovereignty and their

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fellow citizens . And we mourn

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alongside the Ukrainian Ukrainian

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civilians who have lost Children and

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parents and loved ones as

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Russia has deliberately attacked

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civilian targets . Russia has

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inflicted a year of tragedy and terror

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on Ukraine . But the people of

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Ukraine have inspired the world . We

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deeply admire the resilience of the

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Ukrainian people and their

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determination to defend their territory .

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Their sovereignty and their freedom and

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nations of goodwill have rallied

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together to reject Putin's vision of

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world chaos , of a world of

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chaos where tyrants can trample borders

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and conquer their peaceful neighbors

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and break the rules of war . And

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that's what this contact group

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represents together , we have made

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clear that we will support Ukraine's

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self defense for the long haul and we

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will move out with the urgency at the

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moment , demands . Earlier this month ,

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the United States announced another

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round of security assistance for

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Ukraine . The presidential drawdown

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announcement included more ammunition

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for high mars . It included

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190 heavy heavy machine guns to counter

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unmanned aerial systems from Russia or

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or Iran 181 Mrap

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vehicles and more than 2000 anti tank

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munitions and other key capabilities .

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We also added

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$1.75 billion in Ukraine security

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assistance initiative funds for

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critical air defense capabilities

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including counter U S . U A . S systems

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and more . And at today's contact group

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we joined again with our valued allies

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and partners to make sure that Ukraine

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has what it needs when it needs it .

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And we continue to work together to

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provide Ukraine with full combat

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credible capabilities and not just

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equipment . And that's why we discussed

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synchronizing our donations into an

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integrated training plan and you can

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see the importance of our coordination

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and our common efforts to meet

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Ukraine's needs for armor

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among the members of this contact group .

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We have given Ukraine's defenders more

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than eight combat brigades . This

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includes major contributions from the

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United States of strikers and

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Bradleys and Abrams tanks . It

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includes the UK's donation of

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challenger tanks in the contribution of

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senator armed personnel armored

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personnel carriers that Canada

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announced last month . It also includes

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the refurbished T- 72 tanks that the

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United States , the Netherlands and the

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Czech Republic are in the process of

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delivering As well as Poland's latest

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donation of T- 72's and it

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includes the important steps from

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Germany Poland ,

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Canada Portugal

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Spain Norway , Denmark and the

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Netherlands on leopard battle tanks .

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Now , we also heard today about

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significant new air defense donations

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that includes Italy and France , which

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jointly announced that they will

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provide Ukraine with the Santee air

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defense system France also announced

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that it will work with Australia To

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ramp up 155 MB ammunition production to

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support Ukraine . And finally , let me

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also thank Norway , which just

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announced that it will provide €7.5

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billion euros in military and civilian

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assistance to Ukraine over the coming

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five years . That's a very significant

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commitment . Now , all of these

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capabilities will continue to be

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important for Ukraine's success on the

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battlefield . But as I said last month

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in Ramstein , this isn't about one

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single capability . It's about

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delivering all the capabilities that we

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promise . It's about integrating all of

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these systems together . It's about

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working with the Ukrainians to help

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them fight for their freedom . Now , we

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also had an important discussion today

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on our ongoing work on accountability .

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It's a priority for me and my contact

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group colleagues to ensure that our

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donations continue to be used as

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intended and that we move proactively

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to prevent arms proliferation and we

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will keep working with our Ukrainian

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partners to ensure that all of the

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equipment that we're providing

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continues to reach the brave troops on

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the front lines . Now . A year

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ago , Putin assumed that Ukraine was an

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easy target . Putin assumed that

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Kiev would easily fall and Putin

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assumed that the world would stand by

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but the Kremlin was wrong on every

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count Over the past year , Ukraine

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soldiers have fought valiantly for

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their country . Ukraine's people have

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shown deep courage in the face of

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Russian cruelty and countries of

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goodwill have rallied to defend an open

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order of rules and rights

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together we seek a world where disputes

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are resolved peacefully , where

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sovereignty is respected , where

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borders are honored and where civilians

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are protected . Those are the

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values of this contact group . We stand

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united in our support for Ukraine's

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fight for freedom and we will stand

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together united and resolute for as

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long as it takes . And with that , let

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me turn it over to General Milley .

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Thank you Secretary Austin and thank

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you for your leadership leading this

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ninth success of uh contact group .

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This is an incredible level of effort

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by many , many countries . Uh it

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wouldn't be happening without the

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leadership of Secretary Austin . Good

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afternoon everyone . And let me start

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by giving my condolences to the people

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of Turkey and Syria with the tragic

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loss of life and suffering has occurred

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because of a recent earthquake also

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suffering of the Ukrainian people . We

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are approaching the one year

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anniversary of Russia's illegal

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invasion of a sovereign nation ,

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sovereign nation of Ukraine .

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And I want to thank the Ministers of

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Defense and the Chiefs of Defense that

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we're here today Representing 54

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countries that continues to participate

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in this group . The actions of those

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leaders over the last year have

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contributed substantially with real

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effect on the battlefield and they

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collectively have demonstrated

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unwavering commitment to the defense of

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Ukraine and a special thank you to the

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Ukrainian minister Defense Reznikoff

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and his deputy Tchad general moisture

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who continued to display exceptional

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leadership . And my friend General

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Kaluzny , who was on the battlefield

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every day leading his country's defense

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10 days from now is the one year

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anniversary when Russia brutally

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illegally and in a completely

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unprovoked way invaded the sovereign

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nation of Ukraine . As the secretary

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just pointed out , Putin thought he

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could defeat Ukraine quickly fracture

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of the NATO alliance and act with

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impunity , he was wrong . Ukraine

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remains free . They remain independent .

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NATO in this coalition has never been

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stronger and Russia is now a global

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pariah and the world remains inspired

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by Ukrainian bravery and resilience .

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In short , Russia has lost . They've

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lost strategically operationally and

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tactically and they are paying an

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enormous price on the battlefield . But

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until Putin ends his war of choice ,

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the international community will

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continue to support Ukraine with the

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equipment and capabilities it needs to

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defend itself . Through this group , we

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are collectively supporting Ukraine's

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ability to defend its territory ,

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protected citizens and liberate their

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occupied areas in the face of a

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barbaric Russian invasion , Ukrainians

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remain resilient . The nation of

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Ukraine is united for one single

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purpose to expel the Russian forces

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from their territory and to defend

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themselves for Ukraine . This

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is not a war of aggression . It is a

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war of defense for Russia . It is

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a war of aggression . The Russian

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military has paid tremendous costs in

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their war of aggression and now they

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resorted to sending conscripts and

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prisoners to imminent death . In recent

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months , the group would gather here

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today pledged to provide significant

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quantities of battlefield capabilities ,

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tanks , air defense and munitions . 11

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countries have pledged tanks , 22 have

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pledged infantry fighting vehicles , 16

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pledged artillery and munitions and

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nine more pledged air defense artillery .

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The group is focused focused on

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delivering the capabilities committed

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and efficiently providing the training ,

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the spare parts , the sustainment

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logistics necessary for the full

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employment of these systems . Training ,

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maintaining and sustaining . Ukraine's

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remains key for Ukraine to prevail .

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Throughout this war , Ukraine has

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showed incredible resourcefulness and

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how they integrate varied capabilities

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to adapt to the changing dynamics of

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this battlefield . Ukrainians have

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combined unbreakable will with

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innovative tactics and empowered their

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leaders to liberate their own country .

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Russia , on contrast , is waging a very

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costly war of attrition . While Ukraine

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is effectively leveraging their

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asymmetric advantages in order to

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defend itself and the most important

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asymmetric advantage they have is

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courage , resilience and tactical skill .

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This war is extremely dynamic and

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Ukraine today is fighting while

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training and evolving for future

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operations . Ukraine will integrate

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recent commitments of armored vehicles ,

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infantry fighting vehicles and tanks

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with fires to achieve the effect of

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synchronized ground maneuver . While

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Russia has waged this war for far too

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long . They will not outlast the

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Ukrainian people , nor the group of

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allies and partners that met today .

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The purpose for the United States and

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allies as said by our political

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leadership is very simple . It's to

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uphold the rules based international

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order in order that rejects the idea

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that big strong powerful nations can

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attack other smaller countries . That

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borders shall not change just by the

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use of aggressive military force . This

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is the very underlying founding

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principle of the United Nations at the

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end of World War two , Ukraine does not

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stand alone . 54 countries met

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today to ensure that Ukraine can defend

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itself and the principles that guide

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international conduct and those

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principles will be upheld . We will

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remain a unified coalition will

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continue to uphold the values of

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sovereignty and freedom and will

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continue to support Ukraine . Thank you .

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And I welcome your questions . Talk

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up .

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Secretary Austin um You said earlier

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this is a crucial moment for Ukraine

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and that the allies need to get air

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defenses and munitions into Ukraine .

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Now , what are you seeing from Russia

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that makes this moment different . And

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the NATO secretary general has already

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warned that Ukraine is burning through

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munitions faster than a rate that the

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allies can supply it . Will you at some

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point need to ask Ukraine to do more

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with less . And then for Chairman

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Milley did one of the missiles fired at

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the Lake Huron object Miss . And if so

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what happened to that missile ? And if

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so , does that change your risk

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calculus for shooting down objects over

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U . S . Soil . Are you starting to

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develop alternatives ? Uh If if and

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when you detect the next object .

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So in terms of where we are , Thanks

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Tara , in terms of where we are in the

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fight , what we see , what we've seen

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over the last several months uh

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is a contested battlefield . We see a

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lot of activity in in the back mood

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area , which is where Russia is , is

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focusing most of its effort . We see

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Russia uh introducing a number

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of new troops to the battlefield . Many

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of those troops are ill trained and and

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uh and ill equipped . Uh And so

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uh their casualty rate has been really

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high . Um What

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Ukraine wants to do in the , you know ,

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at at the first possible moment is to

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establish or create uh

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momentum uh and uh and and

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establish uh conditions on the

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battlefield that continue to be in its

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favor . Uh And so we expect to see

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them uh conduct an

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offensive sometime in the spring . And

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because of that , you know , we are ,

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we all of the partners in the in the

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Ukraine defense contact group have been

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working hard to ensure that they have

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uh the armored capability , the

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fires sustainment to be able to be

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effective in creating the effects on

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the battlefield that they want to

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create . Uh And so um we believe that

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there will be a window of opportunity

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for for them to exercise initiative and

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and then uh change uh or continue to

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to uh create the

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right conditions on the battlefield

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there in terms of munitions . This has

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been a tough fight throughout . And

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we've been Ukraine has been at this for

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a year . And so they have used a lot of

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artillery ammunition . Uh , We're gonna

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do everything we can , working with our

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international partners to ensure that

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we give them as much uh ammunition as

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quickly as as possible and that we'll

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do everything we can to sustain our

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efforts there as well . Um We are

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working to uh with the Ukrainian

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soldiers in various places throughout

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europe to emphasize additional training

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on maneuver . So that uh as they place

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more emphasis on maneuver and and

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shaping the battle field with fires and

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then maneuvering , There's a good

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chance that they will require less uh

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less artillery munitions , but that's

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left to be seen . So we're gonna do

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everything we can to make sure that

16:54.930 --> 16:56.652
they have what they need to be

16:56.652 --> 16:58.819
successful and that's what we continue

16:58.819 --> 17:00.652
to emphasize here in the Ukraine

17:00.652 --> 17:02.763
Defense contact group . Uh and uh and

17:02.763 --> 17:05.020
we think the training will pay

17:05.030 --> 17:08.460
additional dividends as well . So , so

17:08.460 --> 17:11.960
Tara on the uh balloon shot ? Yes .

17:11.970 --> 17:15.740
First shot missed on the fourth balloon .

17:15.750 --> 17:17.972
So we're talking about the balloon that

17:17.972 --> 17:20.450
was down over Lake Huron , uh the first

17:20.450 --> 17:22.617
balloon , the chinese spy balloon that

17:22.617 --> 17:24.561
went down over the atlantic on the

17:24.561 --> 17:26.617
south Carolina coast . That was that

17:26.617 --> 17:28.783
shot hit the second one over Alaska on

17:28.783 --> 17:30.839
the north coast of Alaska . That one

17:30.839 --> 17:32.728
hit . Uh , the third one And that

17:32.728 --> 17:34.839
landed in the Yukon . That one hit on

17:34.839 --> 17:37.006
the fourth one over Lake Huron . First

17:37.006 --> 17:39.228
shot missed . Second shot hit . Uh , So

17:39.228 --> 17:41.061
the most important thing for the

17:41.061 --> 17:43.061
american military is to protect the

17:43.061 --> 17:45.283
american people . Uh So we evaluate the

17:45.283 --> 17:44.570
risk . We evaluate the risk of the

17:44.570 --> 17:46.514
balloons themselves or the kinetic

17:46.514 --> 17:48.681
threat or not ? Yes , No . Are they an

17:48.681 --> 17:50.903
intelligence threat ? Are they a threat

17:50.903 --> 17:53.126
to civil aviation ? All those things we

17:53.126 --> 17:52.550
go through very , very carefully . Uh ,

17:52.560 --> 17:54.671
We determine what the debris field is

17:54.671 --> 17:56.393
likely to be with one of these

17:56.393 --> 17:58.490
platforms landing on the Earth's

17:58.490 --> 18:00.601
surface or in the water . So we go to

18:00.601 --> 18:02.601
great lengths to make sure that the

18:02.601 --> 18:04.712
airspace is clear and the backdrop is

18:04.712 --> 18:07.200
clear out to the max effective range of

18:07.200 --> 18:09.422
the missile . Uh , and in this case the

18:09.422 --> 18:11.690
missiles land or the missile landed

18:11.690 --> 18:13.912
harmlessly in the water of Lake Huron .

18:13.912 --> 18:16.190
Uh , We we tracked it all the way down ,

18:16.190 --> 18:18.301
uh and we made sure that the airspace

18:18.301 --> 18:20.523
was clear of any commercial or civilian

18:20.523 --> 18:22.523
or recreational traffic . We do the

18:22.523 --> 18:24.801
same thing for the maritime space . Uh ,

18:24.801 --> 18:24.800
so we're very , very deliberate in our

18:24.800 --> 18:27.180
planning , uh , North com does that

18:27.190 --> 18:29.470
along with the pilots themselves . Uh

18:29.480 --> 18:31.536
So we're very , very careful to make

18:31.536 --> 18:33.813
sure that those shots are in fact safe .

18:33.813 --> 18:33.680
And that's the guidance and the

18:33.680 --> 18:35.847
president , uh , shoot it down to make

18:35.847 --> 18:38.013
sure we minimize collateral damage and

18:38.013 --> 18:40.013
preserve the safety of the american

18:40.013 --> 18:41.200
people .

18:42.600 --> 18:46.280
I'll just use the word

18:46.280 --> 18:48.502
object . That's what everyone's using .

18:48.502 --> 18:50.613
Uh , well , we'll see when we haven't

18:50.613 --> 18:52.836
recovered yet . As you know , number 23

18:52.836 --> 18:55.169
and four not recovered yet . Number one ,

18:55.169 --> 18:57.336
we are recovering and getting a lot of

18:57.336 --> 18:59.391
stuff off that . But 23 and four not

18:59.391 --> 19:01.502
yet recovered there in very difficult

19:01.502 --> 19:03.720
terrain . The second one off the coast

19:03.720 --> 19:06.590
of Alaska is uh , that's up in uh , in

19:06.590 --> 19:08.757
some really , really difficult terrain

19:08.757 --> 19:10.868
in the arctic circle with very , very

19:10.868 --> 19:13.090
low temperatures in the minus forties .

19:13.090 --> 19:15.257
Uh , the second one is in the color in

19:15.257 --> 19:17.312
the Canadian rockies in Yukon . Very

19:17.312 --> 19:19.312
difficult to get that one . And the

19:19.312 --> 19:21.368
third one is in uh , in Lake Huron ,

19:21.368 --> 19:23.479
it's probably a couple 100 ft depth .

19:23.479 --> 19:25.701
So we'll get them eventually , but it's

19:25.701 --> 19:25.390
gonna take some time to recover those .

19:25.900 --> 19:28.233
Okay , let's go to do metro you perform .

19:31.050 --> 19:33.217
Thank you for the National News Agency

19:33.217 --> 19:36.210
of Ukraine to Mr Secretary

19:36.220 --> 19:39.960
was the question of the plane supplies .

19:39.960 --> 19:42.182
I mean , combat jet supplies to Ukraine

19:42.182 --> 19:44.910
was discussed or not . And what kind of

19:44.910 --> 19:46.743
security circumstances should be

19:46.743 --> 19:49.660
created inside Ukraine to deploy a new

19:49.660 --> 19:53.630
type of aircraft of such kind doesn't

19:53.630 --> 19:57.270
mean that that is possible after the

19:57.280 --> 19:59.250
integrated air defense system is

19:59.250 --> 20:01.690
created and to General Milley , if I

20:01.690 --> 20:05.260
may , What is your risk assessment for

20:05.260 --> 20:08.450
supply routes of the delivery

20:08.460 --> 20:12.150
of Western equipment and ammunition

20:12.160 --> 20:15.510
to Ukraine and how it could be made

20:15.520 --> 20:19.200
more secure . Thank you . So an

20:19.200 --> 20:22.410
issue of aircraft , I don't have any

20:22.410 --> 20:24.820
announcements to make on aircraft today .

20:25.460 --> 20:27.810
Um , we're going to continue to work

20:27.810 --> 20:30.250
with Ukraine to address Ukraine's most

20:30.250 --> 20:32.580
pressing needs again . You know ,

20:32.580 --> 20:34.970
they're contemplating and an offensive

20:34.980 --> 20:37.740
in uh in the spring and that's just

20:37.750 --> 20:40.860
weeks away and so we have a lot to get

20:40.860 --> 20:42.693
done . So if you think about the

20:42.693 --> 20:44.860
numbers of systems that we're bringing

20:44.860 --> 20:48.630
together Bradleys , uh strikers ,

20:48.640 --> 20:52.090
martyrs , CB ninety's

20:52.100 --> 20:55.950
11 threes . Um , yeah ,

20:57.070 --> 21:00.120
artillery and the list goes on and on

21:00.130 --> 21:02.241
and some monumental task to bring all

21:02.241 --> 21:04.820
those systems together . Get the troops

21:04.820 --> 21:07.100
trained on those platforms and make

21:07.100 --> 21:09.270
sure we have sustainment for that for

21:09.270 --> 21:11.214
all of those systems and get those

21:11.214 --> 21:13.159
systems into the fight . So that's

21:13.159 --> 21:15.400
that's really the focus of our of our

21:15.400 --> 21:18.920
conversation today . So Demetrio lines

21:18.920 --> 21:20.864
of communication in in warfare and

21:20.864 --> 21:22.809
combat are always subject to enemy

21:22.809 --> 21:25.340
attack . No , no different here . Um

21:25.340 --> 21:27.340
and the lines of communication that

21:27.340 --> 21:29.507
stretched through the western portions

21:29.507 --> 21:31.396
of Ukraine are subject to Russian

21:31.396 --> 21:33.618
attack , attack , from the air attack ,

21:33.618 --> 21:35.784
from artillery , attack , from special

21:35.784 --> 21:38.007
operations forces etcetera . So the key

21:38.007 --> 21:40.062
uh , to ensure that the the supplies

21:40.062 --> 21:42.284
get through , maintain good operational

21:42.284 --> 21:44.340
security vary your times . Don't set

21:44.340 --> 21:46.562
patterns , take different routes uh and

21:46.562 --> 21:48.840
make sure you disperse uh , your force .

21:48.840 --> 21:50.840
So they have small penny packets as

21:50.840 --> 21:53.062
opposed to one large , massive convoy .

21:53.062 --> 21:54.951
Uh , the security from the polish

21:54.951 --> 21:57.007
border or any other border remaining

21:57.007 --> 21:59.118
border anywhere . Uh that security is

21:59.118 --> 22:01.173
uh part of the security plan for the

22:01.173 --> 22:03.284
Ukrainian armed forces . Uh they pick

22:03.284 --> 22:05.340
the stuff up and they do that , they

22:05.340 --> 22:05.080
practice all the good tactics ,

22:05.080 --> 22:07.191
techniques and procedures that I just

22:07.191 --> 22:09.024
described . I would say it's not

22:09.024 --> 22:11.080
without risk , but it's moderate and

22:11.080 --> 22:10.860
it's been successful so far to get

22:10.860 --> 22:13.090
through . Okay , let's go to Felicia

22:13.090 --> 22:14.701
Schwartz . Financial Times .

22:18.090 --> 22:21.670
Thank you . Um uh , first

22:21.680 --> 22:24.450
for Secretary Austin , we've heard from

22:24.450 --> 22:26.450
Western officials that Russia's air

22:26.450 --> 22:29.020
force is well intact and that the

22:29.020 --> 22:31.590
Russians are preparing to launch an air

22:31.590 --> 22:33.510
campaign as its land forces are

22:33.510 --> 22:36.410
depleted . Where is Russia amassing

22:36.410 --> 22:38.521
aircraft ahead of the offensive ? How

22:38.521 --> 22:40.470
soon could this begin ? Has this

22:40.470 --> 22:42.303
hastened the need to provide air

22:42.303 --> 22:44.300
defense to Ukraine and has enough

22:44.300 --> 22:46.133
assistance been provided so that

22:46.133 --> 22:48.356
Ukraine is ready to defend against it ?

22:48.356 --> 22:50.980
Uh , and then for Chairman Milley , uh ,

22:50.990 --> 22:53.212
does Russia have the right equipment to

22:53.212 --> 22:55.212
pose a threat to the Ukrainians and

22:55.212 --> 22:56.990
breakthrough in the Donbass and

22:56.990 --> 22:59.101
separately but related lee is Ukraine

22:59.101 --> 23:00.990
going to get enough equipment and

23:00.990 --> 23:03.212
enough time and have a big enough force

23:03.212 --> 23:05.157
on the ground to be able to have a

23:05.157 --> 23:07.101
serious counter offensive . Thanks

23:07.101 --> 23:09.212
Felicia . Um , in terms of whether or

23:09.212 --> 23:12.840
not Russia is massing its

23:12.840 --> 23:16.120
aircraft for some massive aerial

23:16.120 --> 23:18.720
attack . We don't currently see that we

23:18.720 --> 23:21.600
do know that Russia has a

23:21.600 --> 23:24.300
substantial number of aircraft in its

23:24.300 --> 23:27.200
inventory and a lot of capability left .

23:27.210 --> 23:29.377
That's why we've emphasized that , you

23:29.377 --> 23:31.599
know , we need to do everything that we

23:31.599 --> 23:33.860
can and to get Ukraine as much air

23:33.860 --> 23:36.830
defense capability as we possibly can .

23:36.830 --> 23:39.580
And recently you've seen us step up and

23:39.580 --> 23:42.570
offer patriots . You've seen other

23:42.570 --> 23:45.600
countries come forward with SAM T and

23:45.610 --> 23:49.540
uh in irish tea , but it's not enough

23:49.540 --> 23:51.720
and we're gonna keep pushing until we

23:51.720 --> 23:55.080
we get more because that threat is out

23:55.080 --> 23:58.840
there . But again , we , many countries

23:58.840 --> 24:01.062
have stepped up to the plate thus far .

24:01.260 --> 24:03.770
Our effort currently is to get this ,

24:03.770 --> 24:06.260
these capabilities into country as

24:06.260 --> 24:09.130
quickly as we can and then integrate

24:09.130 --> 24:11.430
those capabilities . So we have truly

24:11.430 --> 24:13.670
have an integrated error and missile

24:13.670 --> 24:15.960
defense capability . And I would add

24:15.960 --> 24:18.330
that Ukraine's done a credible job of

24:18.340 --> 24:21.210
uh , of intercepting a lot of the uh ,

24:21.220 --> 24:23.442
the rockets and missiles that have been

24:23.442 --> 24:26.110
launched by by Russia in the in those

24:26.110 --> 24:29.030
recent attacks . But again , we want to

24:29.030 --> 24:31.252
make sure that they have the ability to

24:31.252 --> 24:33.419
protect themselves going forward . Any

24:33.419 --> 24:35.540
event that Russia tries to introduce

24:35.550 --> 24:38.500
its air force into this fight . They

24:38.500 --> 24:40.350
haven't done so thus far because

24:40.360 --> 24:42.582
Ukraine's air defenses have been pretty

24:42.582 --> 24:45.990
gosh effective as you know . So Felicia

24:45.990 --> 24:48.157
on on whether or not the Russians have

24:48.157 --> 24:50.323
the capability , equipment etcetera to

24:50.323 --> 24:52.157
uh to continue the attack in the

24:52.157 --> 24:54.157
Donbass , they are attacking in the

24:54.157 --> 24:56.379
Donbass right now . Um , their progress

24:56.379 --> 24:56.300
is slow . It's a war of attrition .

24:56.300 --> 24:58.467
They're taking heavy casualties . Uh ,

24:58.467 --> 25:00.411
Their leadership and morale is not

25:00.411 --> 25:02.300
great ? Um And they're struggling

25:02.300 --> 25:04.356
mightily . However , uh they do have

25:04.356 --> 25:06.860
numbers . Uh And as you know , uh

25:06.870 --> 25:08.703
President Putin did a call up of

25:08.703 --> 25:11.180
several 100,000 and those folks have

25:11.190 --> 25:13.301
been arriving on the battlefield . So

25:13.301 --> 25:15.430
they do have numbers . And whether or

25:15.430 --> 25:17.580
not they're successful in oppressing

25:17.580 --> 25:19.820
the fight . That remains to be seen ,

25:19.820 --> 25:21.950
but that fight has been going on . Uh

25:21.960 --> 25:23.904
And it's a slow grinding battle of

25:23.904 --> 25:26.071
attrition in that in that general area

25:26.071 --> 25:28.127
for the Ukrainians , I don't want to

25:28.127 --> 25:30.349
project forward what the Ukrainians may

25:30.349 --> 25:32.460
or may not do as you know , from this

25:32.460 --> 25:34.516
particular conference here we are uh

25:34.516 --> 25:36.770
plus ng up with a significant amount of

25:36.780 --> 25:38.910
capabilities with ground maneuver

25:38.910 --> 25:40.980
artillery etcetera . Uh What they do

25:40.980 --> 25:42.813
with that , that'll be up to the

25:42.813 --> 25:44.924
Ukrainians in the in the coming weeks

25:44.924 --> 25:47.202
and months . We have time for one more .

25:47.202 --> 25:49.480
Let's go to Marcus Price Rd television ,

25:52.190 --> 25:54.301
thank you very much . One question to

25:54.301 --> 25:57.690
Secretary Austin about the stance of

25:57.690 --> 25:59.801
the U . S . When it comes to delivery

25:59.801 --> 26:02.760
of fighter jets and the President biden

26:02.760 --> 26:05.540
said no to the delivery of F 16 . Also

26:05.550 --> 26:07.661
earlier in the conflict , when Poland

26:07.661 --> 26:11.090
offered to deliver Mig 29 via Ramstein

26:11.090 --> 26:13.530
to Ukraine , I think the US stopped .

26:13.530 --> 26:17.330
It has this position evolved . Do

26:17.330 --> 26:19.920
you encourage countries to do so if

26:19.920 --> 26:22.660
they want to or do you assess the risk

26:22.660 --> 26:24.716
is too high . So what is the U . S .

26:24.716 --> 26:26.882
Position on other countries delivering

26:26.882 --> 26:28.993
fighter jets and to Chairman Milley ?

26:28.993 --> 26:31.930
Um the Russian offensive , we're seeing ,

26:31.940 --> 26:34.680
what do you see so far ? Is this very

26:34.680 --> 26:36.847
serious ? Is it different than what we

26:36.847 --> 26:39.200
saw in the past ? And do you have any

26:39.200 --> 26:41.970
intelligence , whether we see we are

26:41.970 --> 26:44.100
going to see another attempt of the

26:44.110 --> 26:46.310
Russian forces to capture Kiev . Thank

26:46.310 --> 26:50.280
you . Thanks Marcus for the record .

26:50.290 --> 26:53.960
Um with respect to any kind of

26:53.960 --> 26:56.810
aircraft being provided by Poland . The

26:56.810 --> 26:59.130
United States never stopped Poland from

26:59.140 --> 27:03.100
from providing anything uh decision to

27:03.100 --> 27:05.260
provide something is

27:05.270 --> 27:08.720
uh that's the

27:09.550 --> 27:12.590
you know , the decision made that that

27:12.590 --> 27:14.312
will be a decision made by the

27:14.312 --> 27:16.312
leadership of that country . That's

27:16.312 --> 27:18.479
certainly not something that we can or

27:18.479 --> 27:20.670
will dictate . Uh in terms of whether

27:20.670 --> 27:23.810
or not we're gonna provide F16s , as I

27:23.810 --> 27:25.588
said earlier , I don't have any

27:25.588 --> 27:27.754
announcements to make and I don't have

27:27.754 --> 27:30.040
anything to to add to what what our

27:30.040 --> 27:32.440
president said earlier . So , and I'll

27:32.440 --> 27:35.900
just leave it at that . And Marcus on

27:35.900 --> 27:38.720
the issue of the Russian offensive ,

27:38.720 --> 27:40.720
This this offensive that you see on

27:40.720 --> 27:42.887
going right now in the box , generally

27:42.887 --> 27:45.230
in the back area , you know , from from

27:45.230 --> 27:47.540
Kharkiv all the way down to Curtis on

27:47.550 --> 27:50.240
the front line is quite stable , even

27:50.240 --> 27:52.573
though very violent , a lot of fighting ,

27:52.573 --> 27:55.100
it's relatively stable . Most of the uh

27:55.110 --> 27:57.490
dynamic movement back and forth is in

27:57.490 --> 27:59.657
generally in the vicinity of bach moot

27:59.657 --> 28:01.610
uh the Ukrainians are holding uh ,

28:01.620 --> 28:03.564
they're fighting the defense , The

28:03.564 --> 28:05.787
Russians , primarily , the Wagner group

28:05.787 --> 28:07.953
are attacking , but there's a , what I

28:07.953 --> 28:10.176
would describe it as as a really a very

28:10.176 --> 28:11.898
significant grinding battle of

28:11.898 --> 28:14.060
attrition with very high casualties ,

28:14.060 --> 28:16.171
especially on the Russian side . Um ,

28:16.171 --> 28:18.360
there , there's no fancy arts of

28:18.360 --> 28:20.193
maneuver going on here . This is

28:20.193 --> 28:22.304
frontal attacks , wave attacks , lots

28:22.304 --> 28:24.700
of artillery with extremely high levels

28:24.700 --> 28:27.200
of casualties in that particular area .

28:27.210 --> 28:29.720
And how long that will last . Um , is

28:29.720 --> 28:31.831
difficult to say actually , it's been

28:31.831 --> 28:33.998
going on for weeks uh , and I think it

28:33.998 --> 28:36.280
will continue to go on until the ,

28:36.290 --> 28:38.623
until the either the Russians culminate .

28:38.623 --> 28:40.790
Uh , I don't think the Ukrainians will

28:40.790 --> 28:43.012
just collapse or fold , I think they're

28:43.012 --> 28:45.068
going to continue to fight . So that

28:45.068 --> 28:47.179
that's a battle worth uh , that we're

28:47.179 --> 28:49.401
paying attention to very , very closely

28:49.401 --> 28:48.700
and making sure that the Ukrainians

28:48.700 --> 28:50.644
have the capability to continue to

28:50.644 --> 28:52.756
defend as far as Kiev . I'm not gonna

28:52.756 --> 28:54.811
go into what intelligence we have or

28:54.811 --> 28:56.756
don't have . I would just say that

28:56.756 --> 28:58.811
right now there's always a potential

28:58.811 --> 29:01.089
threat that's clearly air threats , uh ,

29:01.089 --> 29:03.144
missile attack threats . Kiev is the

29:03.144 --> 29:04.811
capital . Uh , and that was a

29:04.811 --> 29:04.710
significant objective early in the war .

29:04.710 --> 29:06.910
So I would never discount Russian

29:06.920 --> 29:09.150
capabilities to attack you , but right

29:09.150 --> 29:11.206
now we're not seeing any significant

29:11.206 --> 29:13.261
indicators and warnings , Ladies and

29:13.261 --> 29:15.261
gentlemen , that is all the time we

29:15.261 --> 29:17.372
have available today . This concludes

29:17.372 --> 29:16.510
our press briefing