Ukraine using all weapons provided to protect against russian aggression - Austin during Ramstein

The United States does not possess any credible evidence of misuse or illegal transfer to third parties of American weapons provided to Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated this in his opening speech during the opening of the online meeting of the 18th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format.

“What we do see is Ukraine using the capabilities that we've provided to defend itself against Russian aggression,” Lloyd Austin said.

According to him, the United States continues to work hard on monitoring and reporting on U.S. security assistance provided to Ukraine.

He also stressed that the Allies should continue to focus both on the immediate needs of Ukraine on the battlefield and on long-term assistance in supporting and modernizing our Defense Forces.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense thanked the countries that have already announced new long-term support packages since the previous meeting of the Contact Group - in particular, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

"Our support for Ukraine's struggle against tyranny makes all of our countries more secure… So a sovereign and secure Ukraine is critical to global security,” he stressed.

An online meeting of the 18th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format began on Tuesday. The Ukrainian delegation is headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umierov.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, during the eighteenth Ramstein meeting, the Allies will discuss the continuation of military assistance to Kyiv, despite U.S. underfunding.