Austin:US to Give Ukraine What it Needs10/22 06:21

   

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- The United States "will get Ukraine what it needs" to 
fight its war with Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on an 
unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, but he gave no hint that Washington might 
endorse key planks of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's so-called 
"victory plan."

   The United States will provide Ukraine with what it requires "to fight for 
its survival and security," Austin said in a speech at the Diplomatic Academy 
of Ukraine. He noted that the U.S. has delivered more than $58 billion in 
security assistance for Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 full-scale 
invasion, making it Kyiv's main backer.

   That includes a new $400 million package of military aid that the Biden 
administration announced Monday, including munitions for rocket systems and 
artillery, mortar systems and rounds, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons. 
It comes just days after the U.S. said it was sending $425 million in military 
assistance to Ukraine.

   But Zelenskyy has asked Ukraine's Western allies to go a few steps further, 
notably inviting Ukraine to join NATO and letting it use Western-supplied 
longer-range missiles to strike military targets deep inside Russian territory. 
Those steps have met with a lukewarm response.

   Ukraine is having difficulty holding back a ferocious Russian campaign along 
the eastern front that is gradually compelling Kyiv's forces to give up a 
series of towns, villages and hamlets. It faces a hard winter after Russia 
targeted its power grid.

   Austin's remarks were notable for what they did not include -- an 
endorsement of Ukraine being invited into NATO, or any indication the U.S. will 
support Ukraine becoming more aggressive in its defense with longer-range 
attacks on Russian soil.

   With the U.S. presidential election about two weeks away, U.S. officials are 
treading carefully. President Joe Biden has balked at measures that might 
escalate the war and bring a confrontation between NATO and Russia.

   Austin said "there is no silver bullet. No single capability will turn the 
tide. No one system will end Putin's assault."

   He added: "Make no mistake. The United States does not seek war with Russia."

   "What matters is the way that Ukraine fights back," Austin told the 
assembled diplomatic and military personnel at the academy. "What matters is 
the combined effects of your military capabilities. And what matters is staying 
focused on what works."

   Zelenskyy said in a Sunday evening video address that his 'victory plan' had 
won the backing of France, Lithuania, Nordic countries and "many other allies" 
in the European Union, which he didn't name.

   Zelenskyy said he had received "very positive signals from the United 
States," but he stopped short of saying he had secured Washington's blessing 
for the plan.

   Analysts say the U.S. is unlikely to make a decision before the Nov. 5. 
presidential election.

   Russian strikes highlight Ukraine's need for weapons

   The latest Russian strikes on Ukraine, targeting Kyiv, Odesa and 
Zaporizhzhia, rammed home the urgency for Kyiv officials of clinching 
guarantees of more support, particularly large amounts of ammunition for the 
war of attrition the sides are engaged in.

   A Russian missile attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed two 
people and injured 15 in the city center and caused huge damage to civilian 
infrastructure, including a kindergarten and more than 30 residential 
buildings, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.

   Russia conducted a ballistic missile strike at Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy's 
hometown, injuring five people, city administration head Oleksandr Vilkul wrote 
on social media.

   According to Vilkul, Russia has conducted ballistic missile attacks on 
Kryvyi Rih for three consecutive days, injuring the total of 21 people and 
damaging dozens of residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

   Machine gunfire and the noise of drones' engines was also heard in Kyiv's 
center throughout the night. Authorities reported minor damages to civilian 
infrastructure caused by falling drone debris in three districts.

   Russia fired three missiles and more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight 
from Sunday to Monday, Ukraine's air force said.

   Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with his Turkish 
counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Monday to discuss cooperation between 
their countries.

   According to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, the meeting focused on 
strengthening strategic relations, defense cooperation and addressing global 
food security through Black Sea grain shipments from Ukraine that pass through 
Turkey'' Bosphorus Strait.

   Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to steer a balanced line 
in his NATO-member country's close relations with both Ukraine and Russia. He 
has previously offered to host a peace summit between the two countries.