KYIV—Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III traveled to Ukraine on Oct. 21, his fourth trip to the country as Pentagon chief, amid deep uncertainty over the Ukrainian effort to defend against Russia’s 2022 invasion and reclaim its lost territory.
The unannounced visit, in the waning months of the Biden administration, came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his plea that the U.S. lift restrictions on American long-range ATACMS missiles and allow Ukraine to use them to strike targets inside Russia. Zelenskyy is also seeking additional air defense interceptors to contend with Russia’s aerial barrages.
Air & Space Forces Magazine is traveling with Austin on what is likely to be his last visit to Ukraine as defense secretary.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s armed forces have been grinding out gains in Ukraine’s east, while Ukrainian troops try to hold a small stretch of Russian territory seized near Kursk, Russia.
“Russia is a very large country with a lot of capability that invaded its neighbor who had not much of a military capability to begin with at that point in time, and they have successfully defended Russia’s onslaught or attack for two and a half years,” Austin told reporters. “That’s quite a remarkable feat. Putin has not achieved one single strategic objective. [Ukraine has] been able to do that, of course, because of the fact that we have supported them from the very beginning.”
Russia is attacking Ukraine’s energy grid and critical infrastructure with missiles and drones, creating a wave of destruction just as winter approaches. As Austin prepared stepped off the train in Kyiv from Poland, the temperature was a few degrees above freezing, a reminder of the cold Russia aims to weaponize in the months to come.
The war has devolved into a battle of attrition, both on the ground and in the air, U.S. officials say. The U.S. and its allies continue to provide air defense interceptors and air defense systems to Ukraine.
“We’ve been pretty consistent throughout saying that one of the key systems on the battlefield is air defense,” Austin said. “We will continue to push to get them the air defense systems and the interceptors that they need to protect their territory. It’s the second largest country in Europe, and so a big space to protect, a lot of cities and populated areas that they need to protect.”
Zelenskyy has had to contend with American politics and sustaining political support in other countries in the West.
After an unsuccessful counteroffensive last year, Zelenskyy has offered a new “Victory Plan” in recent months, which calls for NATO to formally invite Ukraine to join NATO and frees the Ukrainian military to use ATACMS and other Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
The Biden administration has refused to give Ukraine that latitude out of apparent concern that doing so could give Russia an excuse to escalate the conflict. Austin indicated no change is yet in sight. “We don’t have any change to our policy,” Austin said.
Former President Donald Trump has said that, if elected, he would swiftly negotiate a deal to end the war, but has not offered any details of how that would be accomplished. His running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), said in September that a deal could require a pledge of neutrality by Ukraine and the establishment of a demilitarized zone, but Ukraine’s leaders worry the arrangement would enable Russia to retain land seized during the conflict.
In Ukraine, Austin said, he plans meetings with Zelenskyy, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustern Umerov, and other members of the Ukrainian leadership, and he will deliver an address. Austin spent last week at the NATO defense ministerial meeting in Brussels, which Zelenskyy visited, and at the first-ever G7 Defense Ministers Summit. Austin met with Umerov at both of those gatherings.
“I think this good logical progression gives us an ability to see things from a number of different vantage points,” Austin said.
The American defense chief said the visit would broadly allow him to talk to Ukrainian leaders about “refining their tactical and operational goals and objectives to sync up with the president’s strategic objectives.”
Added a senior defense official: “We’re going to have really candid conversations about how we can help in the practical matters of shoring up the Ukrainian armed forces.”
One subject will be about how Ukraine can use its resources against the Russian military’s larger mass to have a “concentrated effect.”
“Russia is not ready to call it quits and so that does place a steep burden on the Ukrainians to continue to field forces, to continue to train those forces, to employ vast amounts of equipment they’re receiving on a continual basis,” the senior defense official added. “It’s important for the Ukrainians to be able to take advantage of opportunities as they arise on the battlefield.”