(9 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ramstein, Germany – 09 January 2025
1. Various of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arriving, greeting German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, flags
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President:
“And we’ve come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defence coalitions we’ve created, especially since they are already helping us grow, especially with what’s basically our shared defence power. No matter what’s going on in the world, everyone wants to feel sure that their country will not just be erased off the map."
3. People clapping hands
4. Photographer
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lloyd Austin, U.S. Defence Secretary:
“If (Vladimir) Putin swallows Ukraine, his appetite will only grow. If autocrats conclude that democracies will lose their nerve, surrender their interests, and forget their principles, we will only see more land grabs. If tyrants learn that aggression pays, we will only invite even more aggression, chaos, and war. But we are still determined to not let that happen.”
6. Monitor reading “Ukraine Defence Contact Group”
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Lloyd Austin, U.S. Defence Secretary:
“Retreat will only provide incentives for more imperial aggression. And if we flinch, you can count on Putin to push further and punch harder. Ukraine’s survival is on the line. But so is the security of Europe, the United States, and the world.”
8. Photographer
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Lloyd Austin, U.S. Defence Secretary:
"We must not let up. And that’s why I’m announcing today another presidential drawdown authority package valued at $500 million. It includes additional missiles for Ukrainian air defence, war ammunition, more air to ground munitions, and other equipment to support Ukraine-s F-16s.”
10. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin used their final meeting on Thursday to press the incoming Trump administration to not give up on Kyiv’s fight, warning that to cease military support now “will only invite more aggression, chaos and war.”
“We’ve come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defence coalitions we’ve created,” Zelenskyy said. “No matter what’s going on in the world, everyone wants to feel sure that their country will not just be erased of the map.”
Austin also announced the U.S. would send another $500 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including missiles for fighter jets, sustainment equipment for F-16s, armoured bridging systems and small arms and ammunition.
The weapons are funded through presidential drawdown authority, meaning they can be pulled directly from U.S. stockpiles, and the Pentagon is pushing to get them into Ukraine before the end of the month.
This latest package leaves about $3.85 billion in funding to provide future arms shipments to Ukraine; if the Biden administration makes no further announcements, that balance will be available to President-elect Donald Trump to send if he chooses.
Austin leaves a consortium that now has more than a half dozen independent coalitions of those countries who are focused on Ukraine’s longer-term security capabilities and who have committed to continuing to stand up those needs through 2027.
The U.S. has provided about $66 billion of the total aid since February 2022 and has been able to deliver most of that total — between 80% and 90% — already to Ukraine.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b98005b4b4f3460aab3c1b3a40d84c74
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in January 14, 2025, 3:04 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
