U.S. Defence Secretary Austin makes surprise visit to Ukraine

United States is attempting to bring renewed attention today to another International conflict us defense secretary Lloyd Austin is in keev on a surprise visit pledging continued Military Support to Ukraine even as the war in Gaza puts an increasing Demand on International resources Richard Madden is in our Washington Bureau tracking

Details on this good to see Richard as what can you tell us about Austin’s visit yeah it was kept Under Wraps by the Pentagon secretary Austin making that unannounced trip in a symbolic message of what he called America’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s war against Russia he also made a

High-profile push to keep cash and weapons flowing into the region because there are concerns the international Focus appears to be shifting to Israel’s war against Hamas and that feeling is that Ukraine is being neglected support for its war against Russia is waning and international resources are being stretched so the defense secretary

Delivered a message of reassurance when he addressed leaders upon his arrival take a listen president of the United States it’s great I know that because I talk to him a lot and uh and you are on his mind each and every day and I hope that uh based upon your work based upon

The work of the other 50 countries that are working with us that we can move the needle forward and uh and help Ukraine do what it wants to do and that is regain its Sovereign territory so moving that needle forward he says and that’s a key part of his

Message this of course is Austin second trip to Ukraine and it comes under much different circumstances uh you’ll recall his first trip happened last April just two months after Russia’s large scale invasion in Ukraine uh back then Ukraine had the backing of much of the western world including Canada with more than 50

Countries pledging to provide weapons training and support but now cracks are starting to show some European countries like Poland have scaled back support citing their own needs to keep fighting abilities to defend themselves secretary Austin is is uh scheduled to meet with top officials today and address Ukraine’s urgent military needs as the

War enters another cold winter of fighting okay so Richard uh you know obviously the Biden Administration pledging to provide continued military assistance to Ukraine but of course that takes money and that’s being challenged Now by this growing division in Washington what’s that issue there when it comes to the funding necessary to do

This yeah Ukraine now becoming a political flash point as we enter political election season next year and it further complicates secretary Austin’s visit domestic politics now an issue the pentagon’s annual budget for Ukraine is running out and it divided congress’s stalling on more cash for Ukraine there was no new money for

Ukraine in its latest spending Bill and officials have been urging Congress to provide additional money but a growing number of Republicans are opposed to funding Ukraine unless Congress puts funding to the southern Border in the US so it’s unclear when or if lawmakers will carve out a separate spending Bill

To address it and how America’s upcoming election year may put this funding under more scrutiny got it Richard thank you so much for this our Richard Madden in our Washington Bureau

U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit to reassure Ukraine of his country’s continuing military support. 

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