Remarks by Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III After His 25th and Final Meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (As Delivered)

View Online Secretary of Defense Speech Remarks by Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III After His 25th and Final Meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (As Delivered) Jan. 9, 2025 Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. And I know that all Americans are thinking today of President Jimmy Carter on this National Day of Mourning. He was a great son of my home state of Georgia, a man of deep faith, and a tireless champion of democracy and human rights. And I hope that President Carter's legacy will continue to inspire people around the world to find their own ways to serve. Now, all Americans are also watching the terrifying wildfires that are ripping through parts of Southern California. The Department will continue to stand ready to surge support as needed. That includes federal air assets that California can request to help fight the fire from the sky. And many U.S. military installations are in the area, and they have personnel and equipment that can also be used to fight this awful blaze. We stand with the people of California in this terrible time. Now, we have just wrapped up the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. And of course, that was my final time convening this Contact Group as Secretary of Defense. And I ended our session by challenging this history-making coalition to continue to support Ukraine. So I'd like to say a few words about that challenge. But I also want to take a few minutes to reflect on how far we've come. You know, throughout the day, I've been thinking back to our very first meeting here at Ramstein. We gathered on April 26, 2022—nearly a thousand days ago. The world was reeling from the shock of Putin's imperial aggression. The Kremlin had invaded the second-largest country in Europe with the largest military in Europe. Russian troops had just massacred Ukrainian civilians in Bucha. And many pundits said that Ukraine was doomed. But President Biden saw a way forward—paved by Ukrainian courage and allied commitment. And I came to Ramstein after a secret visit to Ukraine with Secretary Blinken. We were in Kyiv during Orthodox Easter. And Ukrainian citizens were huddled in churches to pray. And Ukrainian leaders huddled in bunkers to plan. I heard directly from Ukraine's most senior leaders what it needed most, from President Zelenskyy on down. Now, in the days after Putin's all-out invasion, many countries were flooding Ukraine with ad hoc donations of ammo and other capabilities. But I knew that if Ukraine was to survive, we needed to coordinate that security assistance. And we needed to do so in a way that met the evolving nature of the fight. So I convened nations of goodwill right here at Ramstein. And I carried with me the urgency that I heard in Kyiv just hours earlier. So I opened our hastily arranged first meeting by urging some 40 countries to build "a common understanding of the situation in Ukraine." And today, this Contact Group provides more than a common understanding. It provides a common cause. Today, some 50 countries of conscience are coordinating closely with Ukraine to send vital, consistent, and cutting-edge security assistance. And that has helped turn Ukraine's struggle into one of the great military success stories of our times. The Ukrainian military has shown breathtaking courage. And the Ukrainian people have shown magnificent defiance. Ukraine's cause has inspired free people everywhere—including in my country. And you know, back in the desperate days of February 2022, Ukrainian citizens were making Molotov cocktails to defend their homes. But today, with the help of this Contact Group, Ukraine has a battle-tested military and a booming defense-industrial base. We're meeting the most urgent needs of Ukraine's troops even as we're building Ukraine's future force. And over the past three years, we have helped coordinate striking improvements to Ukraine's capabilities—all while managing our own readiness. Now, we know that no single capability will turn the tide. So we have always stayed focused on what works and on the combined effects of Ukraine's capabilities. You know, Ukraine has started to fly fourth-generation fighter jets. It now fields advanced, Western air-defense capabilities. And it produces and operates state-of-the-art unmanned systems. All this positions Ukraine to defeat Russian aggression today and to deter Russian aggression tomorrow. And so, our work together has changed the course of history. Now, I am deeply proud of the assistance that the United States has provided to Ukraine. President Biden's support for Ukraine has never flagged. And Ukraine has also had strong bipartisan support in Congress. Since February 2022, we have stayed laser-focused on providing Ukraine's defenders with the capabilities that they have needed at each stage of the fight. First, artillery and rockets have been fundamental to this war. Since 2022, the United States has provided Ukraine with more than 2 million artillery rounds and more than 20,000 rockets—all while maintaining the readiness of our own forces. Second, we relentlessly pushed to provide Ukraine with air-defense systems and missiles to defend its skies, its cities, and civilians. Third, the Department is working to support Ukraine's drone industry. And fourth, we've surged other critical capabilities to Ukraine, including HIMARS, ground-combat vehicles, Javelins, and much, much more. Time and again, we have seen the huge significance of these combined capabilities. In fact, many of these lower-key capabilities have had a far greater battlefield impact than some higher-profile systems that we've also helped to provide, including F-16s and Abrams tanks and ATACMS. In a war like this, no single capability is game-changing. As I said in Kyiv in October, what matters is the combined effects of your military capabilities—and staying focused on what works even as the fight evolves. Now, the Ukraine crisis exposed some shortcomings in our defense industrial base. We've still got a lot more work to do. But we have galvanized our own defense industry—investing nearly $70 billion at home to produce capabilities for Ukraine and replenish our own stocks.  And so, we still face major challenges ahead. But as the founder of this Contact Group, I am very proud of the way that our allies and partners have stepped up. Since April of 2022, the Contact Group's other members have committed more than $60 billion in direct security assistance to Ukraine. Ukraine's needs on the battlefield have evolved over the past two-and-a-half years. And so have the contributions of the coalition. Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Spain have joined to provide Ukraine with more Leopard tanks. Germany has developed and led its Immediate Action on Air Defense Initiative, which has spurred partners to pledge more than a billion dollars to support Ukraine's air defenses. The Czech Republic has led a dozen countries in surging critical munitions through the Czech Initiative, which coordinated the delivery of hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition last year. And Denmark and the Netherlands have provided Ukraine's first F-16 fighters. And Canada, Denmark, France, Romania, the U.K., and the U.S have found creative ways to train Ukrainian pilots. And Ukraine's partners have provided broad and sustained support—from Patriot and HAWK air-defense systems to thousands of armored vehicles. And so all told, Contact Group members have committed more than $126 billion in security assistance to Ukraine. They have expanded production capacity in factories around the world. And they have raced in sustainment capabilities to keep Ukraine's equipment in the fight.     So this coalition has become the arsenal of Ukrainian democracy. It has become an engine of global security. And this Contact Group has become the most consequential global coalition in more than 30 years. The Contact Group's mission is now driven by its eight Capability Coalitions, with support from the National Armaments Directors. Today, 14 countries and Ukraine lead these important coalitions. They focus on Ukraine's air force; armor; artillery; de-mining; drones; information technology; integrated air and missile defense; and maritime security. And today, the ministers of defense here endorsed each of the coalition's roadmap for Ukraine's future force. Now, each roadmap lays out an efficient and sustainable approach to helping meet Ukraine's long-term and near-term capability needs. And that's how this Contact Group has produced so much progress: by working together for our shared security interests—and by standing together for our shared principles. And the battlefield results have been plain. Since 2022, Russia has suffered more than 700,000 casualties in Ukraine. Now, that's more than Moscow has endured in all of its conflicts since World War II—combined. Russian casualties in Ukraine now surpass two-thirds of the total strength of the Russian military at the start of Putin's war of choice. In November 2024 alone, Russia lost nearly 1,500 troops a day. You know, volunteers cannot make up for these stunning losses. So the Kremlin has been reduced to scouring Russia's jails and coercing contract soldiers. Moscow has even rushed troops from North Korea into a war that they don't belong in. That's another clear sign of Putin's desperation. North Korean forces have suffered more than 1,000 casualties since they enlisted last December in Putin's war. And of course there are other estimates that are far north of that. Meanwhile, the economic cost to ordinary Russians of Putin's imperial fantasies has been staggering. The Kremlin plans to spend about 40 percent of Russia's 2025 budget to keep up with the Contact Group's support to Ukraine. Now, that's a 25 percent increase from last year. Meanwhile, the Russian ruble has continued to plummet.  The Kremlin has become more isolated. And Russia's global stature and strategic position have continued to decay. And so Russia has paid an appalling price for this indefensible war. Yet Putin has not achieved a single one of his strategic objectives. Not one. In fact, Putin was so bogged down in Ukraine that when the vicious Assad dictatorship in Syria collapsed after more than 50 years, all he could do was watch. Russian troops had to race to haul equipment and personnel out of Syria—which had once been a centerpiece of the Kremlin's global ambitions. Putin's failure to save the Assad regime is a stark warning to the few remaining countries that might align themselves with the Kremlin. Now, I am deeply mindful of the anguish that Putin has inflicted on Ukraine. For Ukraine, these have been years of tragedy—of entirely unnecessary agony caused by one man's imperial greed. In my final hours at Ramstein as Secretary of Defense, I mourn for every Ukrainian man, woman, and child killed in Putin's murderous war. And I salute the Ukrainian troops who are fighting so bravely for their country and their freedom. And this coalition has had their backs for nearly three hard years of war. And we must not stop now. So I'm leaving this Contact Group not with a farewell, but with a challenge. The coalition to support Ukraine must not flinch. It must not falter. And it must not fail. Ukraine's survival is on the line. But so is all of our security. Putin wants to avenge a fallen empire—and to rebuild it. The Kremlin's assault starts with Ukraine. But it will not end there. And the dangers are global. Putin wants a world where empire tramples sovereignty—a world where conquest trumps human rights—a world where tyranny bulldozes democracy. Every autocrat on Earth is watching to see whether Putin gets away with it. So this coalition must continue to stand foursquare with Ukraine—and to strengthen Ukraine's hand for the negotiations that will someday bring Putin's monstrous war to a close. Now, that road is challenging. But all the alternatives are far worse. No responsible leader would let Putin have his way. As I have said, peace is not self-executing. Order does not preserve itself. And security does not expand on its own. And so, we must stand up for our security. We must hold firm to the bedrock principle that aggression is a sin. And we must never lose our nerve. So let me again urge countries of conscience from around the world to help Ukraine succeed—and to ensure that Putin does not prevail.  And to my brave Ukrainian teammates—and to my friends who have already given and sacrificed far too much—let me urge you to stay in the fight. We have come so far over the past 25 meetings of this Contact Group. And the structure of this coalition is built to succeed, built to adapt, and built to last. Three years ago, at the founding of this Contact Group, I said here at Ramstein that this coalition "reflects a galvanized world." It still does. I called Putin's war "baseless, reckless, and lawless." It still is. And I called the Kremlin's onslaught "a challenge to free people everywhere." It still is. I will always be proud that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group has held high the torch of security and freedom. And so I will keep saying it: free people must refuse to replace an open order of rules and rights with a violent world of force and fear. Thanks again for being here. And with that, I'll be happy to take some questions.

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