U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin landed in Kiev yesterday from Georgia and provocatively promised the regime’s leaders that the U.S. will back it in its conflict with Russia. “Let me underscore what President Biden said during President Zelensky’s recent visit to Washington. U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering,” he declared at a press conference at the Ukrainian defense ministry. “So, we again call on Russia to end its occupation of Crimea … to stop perpetuating the war in eastern Ukraine … to end its destabilizing activities in the Black Sea and along Ukraine’s borders … and to halt its persistent cyber attacks and other malign activities against the United States, and our Allies and partners.”
Austin went on that the U.S. has spent $2.5 billion in support of Ukraine’s military forces “so that they can preserve their country’s territorial integrity and secure its borders and territorial waters.” He further said that “We continue to operate in the Black Sea and many other areas across the region. We’ve done that on a regular basis, and we will continue to do that going forward.” As if to underscore his point, the Russian Defense Ministry reported yesterday that Russian fighter jets intercepted a pair of American B-1 bombers, along with two KC-135 air refueling tankers over the Black Sea.
