Western allies are prepared to move “heaven and earth” so that Ukraine has more weapons and ammunition so that it can continue to fight Russia’s “unjust invasion,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday during the opening session of an extraordinary international meeting at the US airport. based in Ramstein, Germany.
The meeting, attended by Defense Minister Anita Anand, involves more than 40 countries and aims to get NATO and other partner nations on the same page when it comes to meeting Ukraine’s immediate defense needs.
More than a dozen non-NATO countries, including Japan and Israel, were invited to attend the one-day conference.
“This gathering reflects the galvanized world,” Austin said in prepared remarks at the start of the conference. “Ukraine clearly believes they can win and so does everyone here.”
Together, the allied nations have shipped roughly $5 billion worth of military equipment to Ukraine since the invasion began on February 24. The United States accounted for the bulk of that total: $3.7 billion.
The meeting on Tuesday will be attended by many top Western military commanders, including Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre.
In his comments, Austin accused Russian forces of committing war crimes, including the executions of Ukrainian civilians.
Russia, he said, is waging a war of choice against Ukraine “to please one man’s ambitions,” a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The stakes go beyond Ukraine and even beyond Europe,” Austin said, adding that the war in eastern Europe is a challenge to the entire free world.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was also present at the meeting. Austin recognized it in his comments.
“My Ukrainian friends, we know the burden you all carry,” he said. “And we know and you should know that all of us have your back. And that is why we are here today to strengthen the arsenal of Ukrainian democracy.”
Before the meeting, Anand stopped to speak to reporters and discussed Canada’s arms shipments to Ukraine and last week’s announcement that his government plans to send Ukrainians modern artillery and ammunition.
CBC News reported that four M-777 howitzers were recently taken from the inventory of the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based in Shilo, Manitoba, and flown on a C-17 heavy transport.
The Department of National Defense acknowledged the shipment in a statement at the time, but did not confirm the number of weapons shipped. speaking on CBC Power and Politics on Friday night, Anand said “there are certain details that we are keeping confidential for security reasons.”
When asked about the number Tuesday at Ramstein, Anand hinted that more howitzers could be part of the package.
“I’m going to reserve [comment] on the exact number right now as it continues to evolve,” he said, adding that he will be in Washington later this week to meet with Austin one-on-one “on this very topic.”
Since the Canadian military has only 37 of the 155mm big guns, replacing what is donated to Ukraine is a priority, Anand said last week.
Canada has also sent Ukraine anti-tank weapons, machine guns, light weapons and ammunition. The federal government has said it is working on purchasing “commercial standard” armored vehicles for Ukraine.
Reference-www.cbc.ca