Reuters Videos
STORY: :: Washington announces another $250 million in arms for Kyiv at a meeting in Germany:: Lloyd Austin, U.S. Defense Secretary"Friends, this is a critical moment. Time is of the essence, especially with winter on its way, and we must all step up our support and quickly. So I'm pleased to say that President Biden will announce today an additional $250 million security assistance package for Ukraine. It will surge more capabilities to meet Ukraine's evolving requirements and will deliver them at the speed of war.":: Ramstein, Germany:: September 6, 2024"So make no mistake. If Ukraine is not free, the world is not safe. But this contact group gives us the structure to keep Ukraine sovereign and secure. The coalition is built to succeed. And it's built to last."Sitting next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who urged Western allies to allow Kyiv to use long-range weapons for strikes on Russian territory, Austin pointed to the Kursk offensive as an example of how Ukraine was working to seize the battlefield initiative.Still, Austin's remarks appeared more focused on the broader effort to sustain Ukraine's campaign to repel Russian forces from its territory, including the announcement that US President Joe Biden approved the additional security assistance for Ukraine.The announcement comes at a high-risk moment for Ukrainian forces, who are advancing into Russia's Kursk region even as Russian forces are threatening the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.