US Defense Secretary Austin Meets With Zelenskyy In Kyiv To Show Steadfast Support For Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made an unannounced visit to Ukraine.

Austin arrived Monday in what’s expected to be a high-profile push to keep money and weapons flowing to Ukraine even as U.S. and international resources are stretched by the new global risks raised by the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Austin traveled to Kyiv by train from Poland.

Austin has met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He is scheduled to meet with Ukraine’s defense minister and chief of staff and publicly press Ukraine’s urgent military needs as it enters another tough winter of fighting.

Austin says Ukraine’s effort to defeat Russia’s invasion “matters to the rest of the world” and U.S. support will continue “for the long haul.”