AMN/ WEB DESK
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has vowed that the United States will continue to support Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, even as the US Congress remains stalled over funding to send additional weapons to the front. He said this while addressing more than 50 defense leaders from Europe and around the world meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
During the session, leaders from other nations promised new aid for Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters that Germany will provide ammunition and armored and transport vehicles worth about 542 million dollars.
US Congress has been deadlocked for months over a new 95 billion dollars supplemental bill that includes about 60 billion dollars in aid for Ukraine.
The US has trained about 19,000 Ukrainian forces to date, the bulk of them at the Army bases in Germany. All together, the international coalition has trained more than 129,000 Ukrainians at more than 100 different locations around the world.
In his opening remarks, Austin said Russia has paid a “staggering cost” for the war, repeating estimates that at least 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the war, which has cost Moscow up to 211 billion dollars.