The conflict in Ukraine has reached a turning point, so support for Kyiv will not stop, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on January 20.
“Now is not the time to slow down. Time to dig deeper. The Ukrainians are looking at us, the Kremlin is looking at us, and history is looking at us. Therefore, we will not stop, ”he said before the start of the meeting of the contact group on support for Ukraine, which was held on Friday at the Ramstein airbase in Germany.
On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the conflict in Ukraine has not yet passed the next point of its escalation, despite the harsh statements of some politicians, but is developing in an upward spiral. He noted that there is some delusion in the West that it will become possible for Ukraine to have some kind of success on the battlefield.
Peskov also noted that the supply of heavy weapons to Kyiv by Western countries will only add problems for Ukraine, but will not change anything in Russia’s progress towards achieving its goals.
A day earlier, Peskov said that the supply of weapons to Kyiv, which would allow strikes on Russian territory, would mean bringing the conflict to a new qualitative level. This, according to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, will not bode well from the point of view of global and pan-European security.
On January 18, US State Department spokesman Ned Price assessed the possibility of Ukrainian attacks on Crimea. He stated that Ukraine can use Western weapons at its own discretion, based on its security concerns.
Today, a meeting of Western defense ministers is taking place at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany. According to Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, the meeting will announce the transfer of hundreds of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of a Russian special operation to protect Donbass. The decision to hold it was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
