US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin kicked off defense talks with more than 40 countries on Tuesday by expressing confidence that Ukraine can prevail over Russia in the two-month conflict.
"Your resistance inspired the free world," Austin said at the Ramstein base in Germany, denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "unjustifiable." "It is clear that Ukraine has confidence in its ability to win, and so does everyone here," he added.
With Russia aiming to take complete control of southern Ukraine and the Donbas region, Austin said, "We can do more with our defense industrial base to continue to help Ukraine defend itself more effectively."
The United States is meeting in Germany with about forty allies to provide more weapons to Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, while Moscow warned of a "real" danger of a third world war.
"We have decided that Germany will deliver Gibbard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine," German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said. These armored vehicles, whose number is undetermined, come from the German defense industry's stockpiles.
As the war in Ukraine causes unprecedented tensions between Russia and the Western world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has hinted at the possibility of the war expanding into a global conflict.
Lavrov said to Russian news agencies: "The danger is great and real, and it cannot be underestimated." His words came the day after a visit to Ukraine by US Secretaries of State and Defense Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin.
On Tuesday, Austin will hold a meeting at the Ramstein base in Germany with representatives of about forty countries "to provide additional capabilities to the Ukrainian forces," according to the US Secretary of Defense said.
"They (Ukrainians) can win the war if they have the right equipment and the right support," Austin said Monday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine's victory was only a matter of time.
On Monday, the United States announced an additional $700 million in military aid to Ukraine, bringing its total assistance to $3.4 billion.
The Americans are now providing Kyiv with heavy weapons to repel the Russian forces, focusing their efforts on eastern and southern Ukraine after they failed to control Kyiv.
"We want Russia exhausted to the point where it cannot take steps like invading Ukraine," Austin said. Moscow has not released any toll since March 25, when it confirmed that it had lost 1,351 of its soldiers.