Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 2025

US wants to see a weakened Russia

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said he hopes Russian losses in Ukraine will deter its leadership from repeating its actions.
He added that Ukraine can still win the war if given the right support and praised the efforts of its military.

"We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine," the US military chief said.

Mr Austin was speaking after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

Accompanied by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the visit marked the highest level trip to Ukraine by US officials since the invasion began over two months ago.

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian parties, which ran for over three hours, comes as Russia escalates its military campaign in the south and east of the country.

Mr Austin's comments calling for a weakened Russia were unusually strong for a US defence secretary. It is one thing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression, it is quite another to speak of weakening Russia's capabilities.

At a news conference in Poland after the visit, the US defence secretary told reporters that US officials still believe Ukraine can win the conflict "if they have the right equipment" and the "right support".

The 68-year-old announced that the US will allocate an additional $713m (£559m) of military aid to the Ukrainian government and 15 other allied European governments fearful of Russian aggression.

It brings the total US security assistance provided to Ukraine since the invasion began to more than $3.7bn (£2.9bn).

Mr Zelensky has been pleading with Western leaders to increase the flow of military equipment for weeks, vowing that his forces overcome Russia's military if provided with fighter jets and other vehicles.

Last week the US confirmed that it has supplied Ukrainian troops with howitzer artillery cannons and anti-artillery radars for the first time.

Russia's ambassador in Washington said Moscow had sent a diplomatic note demanding an end to the US supply of weapons to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Mr Blinken announced that some US diplomatic staff will start to return to Ukraine from next week. They are expected to be based in Lviv in western Ukraine initially, with a longer term plan to re-open the US embassy in the capital, Kyiv.

It comes as the White House announced that President Joe Biden intends to nominate Bridget Brink, a career diplomat, as US ambassador to Ukraine - a post that has remained vacant for more than two years.

Mr Blinken also defended America's diplomatic approach, telling reporters that it has put pressure on President Vladimir Putin's regime.

"The strategy that we've put in place, massive support for Ukraine, massive pressure against Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries engaged in these efforts, is having real results," Mr Blinken said. "And we're seeing that when it comes to Russia's war aims, Russia is failing, Ukraine is succeeding."

"A sovereign, independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than Vladimir Putin's on the scene," Me Blinken added.

Speaking following the meeting, Mr Zelensky said his government appreciated "the unprecedented assistance" from the US 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 refocussed its advance on Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and US sources believe that Moscow has committed over 76 battalion tactical groups inside Ukraine.

On Monday, the UK's ministry of defence said in an update that Moscow has made minor advances in the region but has "yet to achieve a breakthrough" due to logistical issues.

The update claimed that "Ukraine's defence of Mariupol has also exhausted many Russian units and reduced their combat effectiveness".
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×