US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed hope that the losses in Ukraine would deter the Russian leadership from repeating their actions.

He added that Ukraine could still win the war if it gets the support it needs and praised the efforts of its military.

“We want Russia to be weakened to the point where it can no longer do what it did during the invasion of Ukraine. They have already lost a lot of military capability and we want them to not be able to replicate that very quickly.” potential,” the head of the Pentagon said.

The day before, Austin met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. The meeting lasted over three hours.

Austin and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who arrived with him in Kyiv, are the most senior US administration officials to visit Ukraine since the war began.

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale observed that Austin’s comments calling for weakening Russia were unusually strong for a US defense secretary. According to him, it is one thing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression, and quite another to talk about the weakening of Russia’s military capabilities.

James Landale , BBC diplomatic correspondent

The visit to Ukraine by Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin fully met expectations.

Visible demonstration of support. Announcement of the imminent return of American diplomats to Ukraine. The promise of more military assistance.

But it was Austin’s comment about weakening Russia that drew the most attention.

This is an amazing statement for a US Secretary of Defense.

He could, of course, be referring to Western sanctions undermining the Russian military-industrial base.

Or did the minister outline new military goals for the West? Is it possible to understand his words in such a way that a protracted war in Ukraine can be useful?

Not all Western allies will agree with Lloyd Austin’s position or his outspokenness.

After a visit to Kyiv, the US defense secretary told reporters at a press conference in Poland that officials in Washington still believe that Ukraine can win the conflict if it has the right weapons and the right support.

Thus, the total US security assistance provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion will amount to more than $3.7 billion.

President Zelenskiy has been pleading with Western leaders for weeks to increase the flow of military equipment, promising that his troops will defeat the Russian military if they get fighter jets and other equipment.

The United States confirmed last week that it had delivered howitzers and anti-artillery radars to Ukrainian forces for the first time.

In response, Russia sent a note to the United States demanding to stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine. This was announced by the Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov.

“800 million dollars – this is the amount that Washington will supply weapons to Kyiv. This is a huge figure, it does not contribute to the search for a diplomatic solution to the situation,” he said.

According to Antonov, the supply of American weapons to Ukraine is an attempt to raise the stakes even more, to aggravate the situation even more, to see more losses.

Anthony Blinken announced that part of the US diplomatic staff will begin returning to Ukraine from next week. They are expected to be based in Lviv initially, with plans to reopen the US embassy in Kyiv in the longer term.

Earlier, the White House announced that President Joe Biden is going to appoint professional diplomat Bridget Brink as the US Ambassador to Ukraine. This post has been vacant for over two years.

Blinken also supported the US diplomatic approach, saying that in this way Washington puts pressure on the regime of President Vladimir Putin.

“The strategy that we have developed, massive support for Ukraine, massive pressure on Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries participating in this effort, is producing real results,” Blinken said. “And we see that when it comes to military tasks, Russia fails, but Ukraine succeeds.”

“We don’t know how [long] this war will go on, but we do know that a sovereign independent Ukraine will last much longer than Vladimir Putin. And our support for Ukraine will continue until we see ultimate success,” Blinken said.

Speaking after the meeting, President Zelensky said his government appreciates the “unprecedented” help from the United States and added that he “would like to thank President Biden personally and on behalf of the entire Ukrainian people for his leadership in supporting Ukraine.”

In recent days, Russia has refocused its offensive against the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass, and US sources believe that Moscow has deployed more than 76 battalion tactical groups in Ukraine.

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