WEBVTT 00:04.190 --> 00:06.134 All right , ladies and gentlemen , 00:06.134 --> 00:08.357 welcome , Secretary Austin . We'll have 00:08.357 --> 00:10.412 a few opening remarks and then we'll 00:10.412 --> 00:12.634 turn it over to questions . Please note 00:12.634 --> 00:14.968 I will call on reporters , Mr Secretary . 00:14.968 --> 00:17.870 You sir ? Uh , good evening . Uh It's 00:17.879 --> 00:19.969 great to be back at Kev . This is my 00:19.979 --> 00:21.930 third visit to Kev as Secretary of 00:21.940 --> 00:25.040 Defense . My second visit since the war 00:25.049 --> 00:28.979 started . Uh I was here in April of 00:28.989 --> 00:32.599 2022 since that time , the 00:32.610 --> 00:34.721 Ukraine Defense contact group , which 00:34.721 --> 00:36.777 as you know , is a group of about 50 00:36.777 --> 00:38.970 nations that work together to provide 00:38.979 --> 00:40.923 much needed security assistance to 00:40.923 --> 00:43.669 Ukraine . That group has roared into 00:43.680 --> 00:47.009 action and we have continued to work 00:47.020 --> 00:48.810 together to provide much needed 00:48.819 --> 00:51.099 security assistance in the form of high 00:51.110 --> 00:53.810 mars , other artillery 00:53.819 --> 00:56.599 platforms , uh tanks , 00:56.779 --> 01:00.040 munitions . And so , uh 01:00.349 --> 01:02.450 really , really good uh good work on 01:02.459 --> 01:06.199 the part of our allies and partners had 01:06.209 --> 01:08.470 a good chance to uh to discuss uh a 01:08.480 --> 01:11.470 number of issues with uh President 01:11.650 --> 01:13.849 Zelensky and Minister Umarov , uh 01:14.239 --> 01:17.830 talked about uh current operations and 01:17.839 --> 01:20.459 also talked about uh what Minister 01:20.470 --> 01:22.889 Umarov looks to do with the Ministry of 01:22.900 --> 01:25.011 Defense going forward in terms of his 01:25.160 --> 01:27.690 uh near term goals and objectives and 01:27.699 --> 01:30.580 his uh uh midterm goals and objectives . 01:30.589 --> 01:32.180 So very , very constructive 01:32.190 --> 01:36.110 conversation . I wanted to reassure the 01:36.120 --> 01:38.330 leadership that the United States of 01:38.339 --> 01:40.550 America will continue to support 01:40.559 --> 01:44.519 Ukraine . And uh and so , you know , we 01:44.529 --> 01:47.519 uh uh we talked about the things that 01:47.529 --> 01:49.640 we're going to continue to do to make 01:49.640 --> 01:51.751 sure that they have what they need to 01:51.751 --> 01:53.973 be successful on the battlefield . Also 01:53.973 --> 01:56.196 gave us an opportunity to uh to refocus 01:56.196 --> 01:58.699 and make sure that uh we maintain 01:58.709 --> 02:00.931 alignment between the operations on the 02:00.931 --> 02:03.153 ground and the president's objectives . 02:03.153 --> 02:05.610 And so , uh that was uh a great 02:05.620 --> 02:09.360 opportunity . And uh so overall , it's 02:09.369 --> 02:11.880 been a , it's been a great visit and uh 02:12.320 --> 02:14.320 with that , I'll take a couple of a 02:14.320 --> 02:17.529 couple of your questions here . I'm 02:17.539 --> 02:19.483 going to derail things . I have an 02:19.483 --> 02:22.610 Israel question . So I'm sorry , have 02:22.619 --> 02:25.020 you seen any cause for concern of how 02:25.029 --> 02:27.029 the Israelis are using the American 02:27.029 --> 02:29.196 provided weapons ? And have you voiced 02:29.196 --> 02:31.251 any concerns to your counterparts in 02:31.251 --> 02:33.307 Israel ? So the question is , have I 02:33.307 --> 02:35.473 seen any cause for concern in terms of 02:35.473 --> 02:37.860 how the weapons that we're providing , 02:37.869 --> 02:41.339 the Israelis are being used ? We have 02:41.350 --> 02:44.639 uh said every step of the way that we , 02:44.649 --> 02:47.119 our expectation is that the Israelis 02:47.130 --> 02:49.539 conduct their operations in accordance 02:49.550 --> 02:52.070 with the law of armed conflict . And we 02:52.080 --> 02:54.191 have made sure that uh we continue to 02:54.191 --> 02:57.259 emphasize to the Israelis that uh that 02:57.270 --> 02:59.960 they must account for civilians in the 02:59.970 --> 03:02.729 battle space and not only that , but 03:02.740 --> 03:04.796 they must do everything or should do 03:04.796 --> 03:07.240 everything that they can to get 03:07.250 --> 03:10.580 humanitarian assistance to the people 03:11.100 --> 03:13.669 in Gaza . And as we've said , a number 03:13.679 --> 03:16.309 of times , Hamas does not equal the 03:16.320 --> 03:18.399 Palestinian people . Hamas is a 03:18.410 --> 03:20.190 terrorist organization and the 03:20.199 --> 03:22.199 Palestinian people deserve better . 03:22.199 --> 03:24.255 They deserve much more . And again , 03:24.255 --> 03:27.320 hopefully at the end of this , you know , 03:27.330 --> 03:29.330 this will transition into something 03:29.330 --> 03:31.441 that provides good governance for the 03:31.441 --> 03:35.270 people of Gaza and addresses the 03:35.279 --> 03:38.449 underlying causes of instability . What 03:38.559 --> 03:42.550 you Mr Secretary 03:42.740 --> 03:46.660 German Minister Boris said that towers 03:46.820 --> 03:49.100 won't be a game changer in Ukraine . 03:49.279 --> 03:51.860 Some are afraid that even 16 won't be a 03:51.869 --> 03:54.036 game changer . Do you agree with these 03:54.036 --> 03:56.190 statements ? And what in your opinion 03:56.199 --> 03:58.919 can be a game changer all about Ukraine ? 03:59.110 --> 04:00.999 Thank you . Well , that's a great 04:00.999 --> 04:03.054 question . And you've heard me say , 04:03.054 --> 04:05.166 you've heard us say a number of times 04:05.166 --> 04:07.166 that there is no silver bullet in a 04:07.166 --> 04:09.869 conflict like this . Uh It uh it really 04:10.240 --> 04:12.580 depends on uh providing the right 04:12.589 --> 04:14.990 capabilities and also integrating those 04:15.000 --> 04:17.222 capabilities in meaningful ways so that 04:17.222 --> 04:19.444 you can create the right effects on the 04:19.444 --> 04:21.667 battlefield . And , and so whether it's 04:21.667 --> 04:24.170 uh F-16s , whether it's uh high mars , 04:24.179 --> 04:26.346 whether it's something else , it's the 04:26.346 --> 04:28.457 way that you go about utilizing those 04:28.457 --> 04:30.568 uh those capabilities and integrating 04:30.568 --> 04:32.679 and synchronizing the capabilities to 04:32.679 --> 04:34.512 produce the right effects on the 04:34.512 --> 04:36.512 battlefield . He's got a voice from 04:36.512 --> 04:38.769 America . Um Thank you first of all , 04:38.779 --> 04:41.029 there's been a steady drumbeat of aid 04:41.040 --> 04:43.207 rolling out for Ukraine . Did you tell 04:43.207 --> 04:45.373 your counterparts about any additional 04:45.373 --> 04:47.484 US aid that is coming out for Ukraine 04:47.484 --> 04:49.596 in the coming days and then uh on the 04:49.596 --> 04:51.484 fighting , how important is it to 04:51.484 --> 04:53.651 prevent Russia from again , having the 04:53.651 --> 04:55.929 winter months to harden their defenses ? 04:55.929 --> 04:58.339 And have you received assurances from 04:58.350 --> 05:00.517 the people you spoke with today , from 05:00.517 --> 05:02.572 these leaders that they are going to 05:02.572 --> 05:06.279 keep the pressure on Russia ? Well , 05:06.290 --> 05:08.769 uh you heard President Zelinski say a 05:08.779 --> 05:11.470 number of times that he intends to 05:11.480 --> 05:14.299 continue to keep the pressure on , on , 05:14.470 --> 05:17.079 on the Russians . And so we expect that 05:17.089 --> 05:19.089 uh you know , that , that that will 05:19.089 --> 05:21.256 absolutely happen . And the first part 05:21.256 --> 05:23.478 of your question again , Carl um well , 05:23.478 --> 05:25.645 the first part was , did you tell them 05:25.645 --> 05:27.700 about any additional aid that the US 05:27.700 --> 05:29.756 would be providing to Ukraine in the 05:29.756 --> 05:31.811 coming days ? So I I announced today 05:31.811 --> 05:35.329 another $100 million drawdown using 05:35.339 --> 05:37.561 presidential drawdown authority that it 05:37.561 --> 05:39.589 will provide additional artillery , 05:39.940 --> 05:42.790 munitions , additional 05:43.440 --> 05:47.049 um interceptors for air defense uh 05:47.059 --> 05:49.410 and uh and a number of uh anti tank 05:49.420 --> 05:51.690 weapons as well . So , you know , our 05:51.700 --> 05:53.867 support continues , but you're right . 05:53.867 --> 05:55.978 Uh other allies and partners are also 05:55.978 --> 05:58.200 stepping up to the plate as well . It's 05:58.200 --> 06:00.799 been an IC TV . Good evening , Mr 06:00.829 --> 06:02.885 Secretary . I will follow up with my 06:02.885 --> 06:05.440 colleague's question . Um From your 06:05.450 --> 06:09.160 perspective , is Ukrainian army ready 06:09.170 --> 06:12.670 for winter combat uh especially 06:12.679 --> 06:15.720 considering the fact of this funding 06:15.730 --> 06:18.239 challenges from the United States 06:18.250 --> 06:21.600 Congress , I , I think they are uh 06:21.609 --> 06:24.440 prepared for combat um um in , in the 06:24.450 --> 06:27.140 winter and certainly they did a great 06:27.149 --> 06:29.038 job last year . Uh This year , we 06:29.038 --> 06:31.038 expect for them to be uh just based 06:31.038 --> 06:32.982 upon what the President has said . 06:32.982 --> 06:34.982 President Zinsky has said . But the 06:34.982 --> 06:37.093 them to be even more aggressive uh in 06:37.093 --> 06:39.316 this later , uh this latest drawdown uh 06:39.316 --> 06:41.385 package that just mentioned we've 06:41.394 --> 06:44.015 included in there some winter gear as 06:44.024 --> 06:46.024 well . We provided winter gear last 06:46.024 --> 06:48.885 year . So yeah , they have the means 06:49.225 --> 06:52.274 that they'll need to be successful in 06:52.285 --> 06:54.285 fighting in the winter time . And I 06:54.285 --> 06:56.507 think I agree with President Zelinski . 06:56.507 --> 06:58.729 The right thing to do is to continue to 06:58.729 --> 07:00.952 press the fight , take the fight to the 07:00.952 --> 07:03.859 enemy . Let's go to be with . Thank you . 07:03.980 --> 07:06.091 Uh Secretary Austin , how worried are 07:06.091 --> 07:08.202 you personally about the future of us 07:08.202 --> 07:09.980 security aid for Ukraine giving 07:09.980 --> 07:12.036 opposition in Congress ? And how did 07:12.036 --> 07:14.036 you seek to reassure the Ukrainians 07:14.036 --> 07:16.369 during your visit to the US back ? Uh I , 07:16.369 --> 07:18.660 you know , I continue to see bipartisan 07:18.670 --> 07:20.726 support in both chambers of Congress 07:20.850 --> 07:22.961 and I know that there are some things 07:22.961 --> 07:24.794 that we need to continue to work 07:24.794 --> 07:27.017 through uh to , to get the supplemental 07:27.017 --> 07:29.183 request uh approved and we'll continue 07:29.183 --> 07:31.294 to work with cong Congress to do that 07:31.450 --> 07:33.299 again . Uh Congress uh our 07:33.309 --> 07:35.253 congressional members have uh have 07:35.253 --> 07:37.476 valid questions that we will answer and 07:37.476 --> 07:40.140 Uh but again , I I would point out that 07:40.149 --> 07:42.316 uh Ukraine matters , what happens here 07:42.316 --> 07:44.371 matters , not just to Ukraine but to 07:44.371 --> 07:46.427 the entire world . This is about the 07:46.427 --> 07:48.593 rules based international order . This 07:48.593 --> 07:50.760 is about , you know , not , not living 07:50.760 --> 07:52.982 in a world where a dictator can wake up 07:52.982 --> 07:56.170 one day and decide to , to annex the 07:56.179 --> 07:58.179 property of his peaceful neighbor . 07:58.220 --> 08:00.276 That's not the world that we want to 08:00.276 --> 08:02.498 live in . And so this is , this is more 08:02.498 --> 08:04.442 than , than just Ukraine . This is 08:04.442 --> 08:06.109 about again , the rules based 08:06.109 --> 08:08.387 international order . I don't question . 08:09.369 --> 08:12.250 Hi , Secretary Austin . Um Coming away 08:12.260 --> 08:14.371 from your talks today , do you have a 08:14.371 --> 08:16.371 sense that Ukraine has a more clear 08:16.371 --> 08:18.730 path to , to substantial territorial 08:18.739 --> 08:21.440 progress and that it has remedied some 08:21.450 --> 08:23.561 of the issues that contributed to the 08:23.561 --> 08:25.172 problems with the concurrent 08:25.172 --> 08:27.339 counteroffensive . And I have a follow 08:27.339 --> 08:31.239 up by , I think , you know , Ukraine , 08:31.250 --> 08:33.194 the Ukraine military is a learning 08:33.194 --> 08:35.349 organization and it will continue to 08:35.359 --> 08:37.919 learn from uh from all of its 08:37.929 --> 08:40.270 operations to this point . I think 08:40.280 --> 08:42.391 what's important is that , you know , 08:42.391 --> 08:45.390 the military uh uh constructs its 08:45.400 --> 08:48.159 operations to 08:49.309 --> 08:51.820 focus on the objectives and the goals 08:51.830 --> 08:54.400 that the president wants to achieve and 08:54.409 --> 08:56.770 again , synchronizing that up and 08:56.780 --> 08:59.002 making sure that we remain in the right 08:59.002 --> 09:01.224 place or they remain in the right place 09:01.224 --> 09:03.979 continues to be something that they'll 09:03.989 --> 09:06.045 continue to focus on . So , yeah , I 09:06.045 --> 09:08.750 think , I think they've learned a lot . 09:08.820 --> 09:11.153 I think they'll continue to learn . But , 09:11.153 --> 09:13.098 you know , this is dynamic as they 09:13.098 --> 09:15.264 learn and make adjustments , the enemy 09:15.264 --> 09:18.164 learns and then the related follow up 09:18.184 --> 09:20.240 is I know that you and your team and 09:20.240 --> 09:22.406 your counterparts on the military side 09:22.406 --> 09:24.573 have been working really hard over the 09:24.573 --> 09:26.795 last year and a half to support Ukraine 09:26.795 --> 09:28.684 to train their forces to get it a 09:28.684 --> 09:30.851 number of different capabilities . And 09:30.851 --> 09:33.414 yet the offensive operations haven't 09:33.424 --> 09:35.646 had the outcome that everybody wanted . 09:35.646 --> 09:37.313 How does this deadlock on the 09:37.313 --> 09:39.535 battlefield get broken ? Given that you 09:39.535 --> 09:41.591 guys have , you know , given all the 09:41.591 --> 09:43.924 support that you thought you could give . 09:43.924 --> 09:45.924 Well , let's take stock of what the 09:45.924 --> 09:48.146 Ukrainians have actually done . They've 09:48.146 --> 09:50.146 taken back half the half the ground 09:50.146 --> 09:52.368 that the Russians originally occupied . 09:52.368 --> 09:54.424 I think that's a pretty big deal . I 09:54.424 --> 09:56.313 think if you look at what they've 09:56.313 --> 09:58.368 accomplished here with the Black Sea 09:58.368 --> 10:00.591 fleet , they have inflicted significant 10:00.591 --> 10:02.760 pain on that fleet and actually caused 10:02.770 --> 10:06.159 them to reposition a bit . If you look 10:06.169 --> 10:08.280 at the damage that they've created to 10:08.280 --> 10:10.739 Russians land forces overall , it's 10:10.750 --> 10:12.780 significant and it will take Russia 10:14.219 --> 10:16.419 quite a while to recover from that . 10:16.580 --> 10:18.580 And in order to create the kinds of 10:18.580 --> 10:21.739 force that it had before this began . 10:21.869 --> 10:24.390 So we have to give credit where credit 10:24.400 --> 10:26.567 is due . I mean , this is , we said it 10:26.567 --> 10:28.733 was going to be a tough fight . It's a 10:28.733 --> 10:30.567 grinding fight and I think we'll 10:30.567 --> 10:32.622 continue to see that in the future . 10:32.622 --> 10:34.456 Now , uh what's important as you 10:34.456 --> 10:36.678 pointed out in your earlier part of the 10:36.678 --> 10:38.844 question uh is that they learn from uh 10:38.844 --> 10:40.844 from , you know , operations in the 10:40.844 --> 10:42.733 past and that they make the right 10:42.733 --> 10:44.844 adjustments and that uh and that they 10:44.844 --> 10:46.844 anticipate that the enemy will also 10:46.844 --> 10:48.844 adjust as they are adjusting . So , 10:48.844 --> 10:50.956 ladies and gentlemen , that's all the 10:50.956 --> 10:50.559 time we have today . Thank you very 10:50.570 --> 10:51.010 much . 10:54.489 --> 10:54.820 Ok .