The White House will host a conference for American and Ukrainian defense companies in December, the latest show of U.S. support for Ukraine.
The conference comes on the heels of an Ukraine-hosted international defense industry forum in September and is designed “to significantly increase weapons production to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom and security,” according to the Friday announcement.
The Defense Department, State Department, Commerce Department, and National Security Council—and their Ukraine counterparts—will join the two-day conference, which starts Dec. 6. The Pentagon will also host a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and representation from about 50 nations to enhance international collaboration.
The White House is working overtime to make sure support to Ukraine doesn’t waver as the Israel-Hamas war diverts attention—and weapons. In the meantime, Ukraine has been hunting for more arms, and sometimes paying high prices to get them as supplies dwindle.
To reassure Ukraine, Austin made a surprise visit to the country Monday to meet with leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and discuss the weapons the military forces will need through the winter.
“I think they are prepared for combat in the winter, and certainly, they did a great job last year,” Austin told reporters Monday. The aim is for them to be “even more aggressive” this year.
The latest $100 million aid package the U.S. will send Ukraine includes:
- Stinger anti-aircraft missiles;
- A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and ammunition;
- 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
- Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided, or TOW, missiles;
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
- More than 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition;
- Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing;
- Cold weather gear; and
- Spare parts, maintenance, and other ancillary equipment.
The White House has also asked for $106 billion in a controversial supplemental funding request that would provide even more support for Ukraine. Austin has previously said that failing to pass that funding bill would almost certainly secure a Russian victory.
“There are some things that we need to continue to work through to get the supplemental request approved,” and answer lawmakers’ “valid questions,” Austin said Monday.
But ultimately, this support is bigger than Ukraine, he argued.
“What happens here matters not just to Ukraine, but to the entire world. This is about the rules-based international order. This is about…not living in a world where a dictator can wake up one day and decide to annex the property of his peaceful neighbor. That’s not the world that we want to live in.”
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Making moves
Elana Broitman, the former New York City director of the think tank New America, is now a senior advisor for the Roosevelt Group, a consulting firm focused on national defense, intelligence, and homeland security. Broitman previously served as deputy assistant defense secretary for manufacturing and industrial base policy and helped foster partnerships with technology sectors from additive manufacturing to photonics.
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