U.S. investment in defense contracts for Ukraine reaches $27B - Austin

This was stated by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who spoke at the Defense Industries Conference on Wednesday, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports.

The U.S. has already invested about $27 billion in more than 35 states in contracts for the production of critical assets for Ukraine, including air defense systems, ammunition, and tactical vehicles, Austin told the conference.

He expressed hope that Congress would soon approve President Joe Biden's national security supplemental funding request. Most of the assistance projects under the new bill would be implemented through the American industrial base.

The money from the supplemental assistance package will come back to the U.S. through investment in American jobs and security, Austin said, adding that at the same time, Washington must expand Kyiv’s ability to maintain many different systems and platforms provided by allies and partners from around the world.

At the same time, he emphasized the need for the US to continue working with allies and partners to help Ukraine fight back against Russian aggression.

According to Austin, this implies strengthening Ukraine’s defense and industrial base today to support the ongoing fight, as well as strengthening the nation’s defense potential for the future.

In this regard, the head of the Pentagon noted that the development of opportunities for bilateral partnership in the field of defense production is an important contribution to ensuring the U.S. national security interests.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said during his speech at the Defense Industries Conference in Washington on Wednesday that his country is capable of becoming a security donor for neighboring countries.