ukrainian president zelenskiy and members of the ukraine defense contract group. >> good morning and thank you everyone for being here today. it is my pleasure to introduce territorial defense lloyd austin roman 3rd, and general of the joint chiefs of staff general charles brown, jr.. we will have time to dig a few questions.

i will moderate these questions and, and journalists and due to time constraints, we ask that the site, plan to limit their questions to give your call is a chance to answer questions. > my first question for you is, who pulled the fire alarm? [laughter] ok. [laughs] well, i didn't. but, thanks for joining us everybody. general brown and i have just come from the 21st meeting of the ukraine defense contract group. we were joined by a great team from ukraine led ministry of defense. i convened what would become the ukraine defense contact group for the first time in weinstein airbase exactly two years ago today, and some of you were there at that meeting.

thanks to underscore the achievement of the contact group over the past two years, we were joined this morning virtually by president zelenskyy. at the first weinstein airbase -- ramstein meeting, ukraine's defenders had been at the russian army -- beaten back the russian army. ukraine has not fought back for 793 days. that is more than 2.5 times as long as the value of verdun during the first world war and more than the soviet union blockade of berlin during the cold war. ukraine is still in the fight and still showing incredible skill, courage, and resilience. and this coalition is still standing strong. over the past two years, this contact group has shown its

unity, its impact, and its staying power. we have made history, and we have changed history. this contact group includes some 50 members of our allies and partners from around the planet, and we stand united in commercial and military assistance for ukraine. we have searched in critical capabilities again and again. and this contract group and made a huge difference. contact group members have committed more than 95 million dollars in security assistant to and i am very proud of american leadership and contributions. i am glad that president biden could sign into law additional lifesaving assistance for ukraine, as well as more funding for a girl, timeline, and our defense industrial base, and that will lead the united states move out immediately to send

ukraine critical air defense capabilities and artillery, armor, and from the military stocks that president biden announced wednesday. i am also pleased to announce today an additional commitment of $6 billion through our ukraine security assistance initiative. that will allow us to procure new capabilities for ukraine from the u.s. industry. this is the largest security assistance package that we have committed today. it will include critical interceptors for cranes patriot antimissile air defense systems, more counter driven systems and support equipment, significant amounts of artillery ammunition and air to ground munitions, and maintenance and sustainment support. so the announcements this week underscore america's enduring commitment to ukraine's defense.

i am also proud of all the capabilities of our allies and partners have provided to ukraine. our contact group partners have contributed most of the counter you a s systems provided to ukraine and most of that 155 millimeter artillery systems, it was tiger tanks, most of the armored personnel carriers, most of the infantry fighting vehicles, and more. throughout putin's war choice, his contributions have been important and they have saved countless lives. so, two years later, this contact group stands strong and this coalition stands together. and we will not falter. we will not flinch. and we will not fail. to get there we will continue to work on two things.

helping ukraine meet its urgent barrel needs, and helping ukraine build a future for us to stave off and deter russian aggression over the longer-term. over that first track, replaced especially hard today to rush in more air defense systems and interceptors. and on the second track, this contact group is working with ukraine to help it move forward robust, efficient and self-reliant defense. much of this work is taking place in the contract group -- contact group's new coalitions. they are looking for ways to further strengthen ukraine's capabilities and they are identifying where and how to boost ukraine's capabilities in areas such as air defense, airpower, artillery, maritime

security, armor, information technology, demining, and uavs. i am grateful to all the countries heading up the capability coalitions that are now up and running. now, when this contact group first met at ramstein air base, i said that putin never imagined that the world would rally behind ukraine so good. and surely, and they said that this coalition reflects a government world. it still does. the nations of good will gathered gathered today illustrate what is at stake. for ukraine, per your, for the united states, and for the world. the outcome in ukraine will determine the trajectory of our times if we can configure

ukraine, the security consequences great and lovable. beautiful face the security bracket has not seen in our lifetimes. as president biden has noted, aggression will not stop praying. if the government gets its way, if buttons were of imperial aggression succeeds, every. on earth will take -- every tyrant on earth will take note. so we have a chance to shape the kind of rock that our children and grandchildren live in. putin is more is the final assault on the very idea of an open wound of needs and responsibilities -- open world of moods and responsibilities. the cost of standing firm on her own dwarfed by the cost of caving in. that is clear to the extraordinary contact group and

to the government world. with that, only turn it over to general brown. >> thank mr. secretary. each and every one. in moments of challenge, history can reflect insights that inform the resident. shortly after the korean war, professor marshall accepted the nobel peace prize and said, for the moment, the maintenance of peace does depend on a very large measure on military power. marshall believed military powers not sufficient. he continued -- i believe there is a readiness to cooperate, which is one of the great and hopeful factors of the world today. we must stand together strongly. principles of military strength and international cooperation are more important than ever and

serve as a cornerstone of our commitment to afford the 70 nations such as ukraine. the work of the defense contract is firmly rooted in these principles. once again in want to thank secretary austin. bishop in starting this international coalition that have been for two years. thanks also to the defense minister and the general who joined us today for their resilient leadership of ukraine's armed forces. and to nations attending the udcg today, their efforts remain vulnerable to this coalition work supporting ukraine. russia's working ukraine endangers the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law and raced up check and information transfer 70 war. as marshall, the role of military power in this case a combined with support from a unified coalition is crucial to

respond to and hostility. russia's ongoing aggression against ukraine, and ukraine's fight for sovereignty is a matter of international significance. a direct challenge to global security and that of nato and the united states. ukrainian forces are facing severe challenges their operational temperature is hindered not by a lack of will, but by building supplies. you just continue fortifying defenses against significant odds knowing that their armament s cannot stop a resurgent russian force without sustained military support to ukraine. meanwhile, russia is aggressively reconstituting its military force using its numerical advantage to wear down ukraine's result and resources.

the u.s. military, up and say who is not an effective course of action. ukraine has been left hoping for urgent replenishments of air defense artillery and armor that is why we all need to operate with the sense of urgency the . the recently passed national security supplemental bill provides a vital lifeline to ukraine at a critical juncture in this conflict. two days ago, the united states announced a very significant $1 billion security assistance package that will provide much needed munitions and support to ukraine. this package includes capabilities, weapons systems and munitions that will help ukraine shore up its defenses and provide critical air defense munitions protecting ukrainian forces. critical national infrastructure and population, helping to counter russia's plan. the mission of the udcg matters. it is critical. get price action. leaders don't stand on the sidelines.

our efforts to assist ukraine set an example. if russia wins, the repercussions will be found well outside ukraine's borders, risking further escalation. the fight in is not just a distant battle, it is preventing a wider conflict that could potentially draw others deeper into prolonged armed engagement . what happens in one corner of the world doesn't stay in one corner of the world. this is what george marshall meaning, peace and security are achieved through military. the efforts of this coalition uphold an international order that benefits the population of all countries who seek freedom , democracy in the lab. thank you and look forward to your questions. reporter: associated press. good afternoon, thank you so much. mr. secretary, president zelenskyy this morning made it clear that his country needs patriot systems, not just the

munitions that go with it. can you say how much if any progress. today on the considering the number allies have expressed reluctance in sending these systems that they just don't have very many of? and mr. chairman, if i could switch to a different topic for you, and gaza, a lot of the aid agencies are very concerned about security came in and around the port particularly testing. distribution of the aid. what assurances have you gotten from israelis about security at the airport including for their own troops who have had incidents where they had killed aid workers? in the talk on bit about that? -- can you talk a little bit about that. sec. austin: in terms of patriots and what they will have to do going forward, it remains to be seen. i can tell you that we continue to work on this in a very earnest manner.

all of the countries that have patriots certainly value their capability. but i think going forward, we will be able to hopefully work with a number of countries to put together an additional picture capability. you may have noticed the last several days, i have been talking about -- talking one-on-one with my european counterparts, actually discussing this issue and other issues. but again, we will continue to work at this until we have the right kinds of capability. i would point out, it's not just for. that they need, they need other types of systems and interceptors as well, so i would caution us in terms of making patriots the silver bullet. i would say that it's great to be the integrated defense as we

have said so many times before that really turns a tide. there are other capabilities that we really pushed hard to get and we may be able to get to the ukrainians a little bit faster. but this work continues already. you know that jan stoltenberg talk to other ministers of defense on this same issue a week ago. and in addition to the work i am doing with my colleagues, we will continue to emphasize that countries, we are going to ask them to accept a little bit more risk so that we can do what is necessary in ukraine. gen. brown: i quite appreciate the question. one of the areas that we have been focused on as we move down the path to bringing our joint logistics over the shore and build the port on the beaches of gaza there is not only the security of the port itself the security of our forces but also the security of the distribution

and also the aid workers. and a couple of things that we have done is engaged not only with our israeli counterparts, but also with some aid agencies as well. we have talked specifically about the security for the port area as well as the distribution . after the unfortunate incident that killed their workers from world central kitchen, i talked to my israeli counterpart about the incident itself. the investigation they did, and the corrective actions that they were putting in place. that has been part of the discussion between united states central command leadership, they have been engaging with the various agencies that will help with the distribution to provide them the confidence that we've worked with closely with the israelis to provide for their protection, and ensure that they have the procedures in place so you don't have an incident that is very similar to what occurred previously. reporter: mr. secretary, some

critics say that the u.s. strategy in ukraine has been to give ukraine enough assistance not to lose about, not enough to win for fear of provoking russia because russia is a nuclear power. will there be any restrictions on the new weapons that are being sent the attacks and others, where they can be used and where they can't be used? and what would you say to republicans who wanted to get paid to ukraine who say that you don't have a strategy? do you have a -- republicans who voted against aid to ukraine who say that you don't have a strategy? do you have a strategy? sec. austin: thanks. our goal is to see a democratic, independent and sovereign ukraine that has the capability to defend itself and deter aggression going forward and so you see us working towards that end with not only the capability that we are providing ukraine in the current battle, but the kinds of things that we are

helping ukraine built for the future. pointing back to the capability coalitions. so in terms of what ukraine needs on a day-to-day basis, as you know, i talked to the defense minister every week and we talk about what the requirements are, what is most critical. in days gone by when others were talking about different types of systems, we were focused on providing ukraine adequate air defense capabilities. and we have seen how important that was over time. and it will continue to be important going forward. without that focus, without that kind of capability, ukraine would be in much worse shape because of the capability of the forces. so i would caution anyone and

saying, in believing that one type of system will be a silver bullet. it is going to be a combination of systems. it will be dependent upon whether or not ukraine can effectively employ these systems and sustain those systems. and whether or not ukraine can mobilize an adequate number of troops to replenish its ranks. and so we continue to work on all those things simultaneously. and we really want ukraine to be successful, we have invested a lot. this is really important not just for ukraine, but for the world and for other reasons you heard me talk about in my opener. reporter: general brown, can ukraine win? gen. brown: the key part is to make sure that ukraine can defend itself. i checked aggression it leads to

more aggression. this is where it is so important to put ukraine in a place where it can defend itself and we don't have this brought into a much broader conflict. when i think about how world war ii started or previous world wars, this is so important that we have ukraine defense contact group and other nations around the world that are focused on ensuring ukraine is successful. sec. austin: sec. austin: ukraine can be successful if it has the right amount of security assistance. we are very grateful for congress passing the supplemental, and, again, if you think about what russia intended to do fairly often -- early on, what its strategic objectives were and the fact that it failed to achieve any strategic objectives, two years later, 793 days later, ukraine is still fighting, still holding its ground. remarkable. it is holding that ground even in the face of a question as to

whether or not we were going to continue to support them. that question is off the table now. it has reassured the ukrainians, but also it has reassured our allies and partners around the globe. reporter: mr. secretary, national security adviser jake sullivan raised the concern this week about there being a catch-up period in terms of getting interceptors and some of this new aid to ukraine. can you speak to the vulnerabilities, the concerns that we are in this particularly sensitive time? and then, mr. chairman, there is reporting out this week suggesting that ukraine has had to pull the abrams tanks that the united states sent, in part, due to concerns about the fpv drawing thread. can you confirm if that is true and put it into a larger context of what it means in the battlefield? sec. austin: thanks for the

question. i would say that the commitment united states has made is material. it is real. it is substantial. and we will do everything we can to get that security assistance to the ukrainians as quickly as possible. you heard us talk, about you heard general ryder mention a couple of days ago that we had done some things to preposition stocks in europe so that we could cut down on the amount of time that it took to get certain types of things into the hands of the ukrainians. even with the naugh it is going to take time to get things in the country. and distributed to the point of need. consider the fact that even without that, the ukrainians were able to hold their own forte which of time with this capability, we expect that they will do a lot better.

i may have indicated earlier, they are doing additional things to mobilize additional troops to replenish their ranks. i think all of those things are going to come together to put them in a much better place. but it will take a little time. as i talk to ukrainian leadership, i am confident that they can continue to hold their own and then as they get a bit stronger, they will have options available to them. i appreciate gen. brown: the question, i will defer to ukrainians and how they use the abrams. i will highlight the use of the first person view drunks by both sides and the innovation it has brought to the conflict with that capability. it is something we can all learn from, how we are able to adapt in conflict, and that the character of war is indifferent, various weapons systems through innovation, this is why it as a chief of staff and as chairman,

i am very focused about how we bring innovation and how we move much more quickly to ensure we can adapt in that battle environment. you are watching that happen in the battle there in ukraine. reporter: a couple of questions. one on the $6 million u.s. aid commitment. what types of systems are you talking about? we talking eight euros, not contracts going out today. is that accurate? mr. chairman, the aid package that one of the other day, will it roughly allow ukraine to start a mini offensive or to be more on parity with the russians in terms of 155's and the cluster munitions, sending more defense versus offense? sec. austin: thanks. in terms of how long it will take to deliver the capability that we are investing with u.s. aid funds, it depends on the type of system.

as you know, some of the platforms have a much longer lead time to construct as well as some of the munitions, so it depends. you can rest assured that we are going to move as fast as we can to give them the capability, as fast as industry could produce, but we will move at the speed of industry. and we are investing in industry as well so they can expand their capacity. some of what was in that supplemental allows us to do that. the types of things that we are investing in the same types of things you heard us talk about earlier. they need air defense interceptors, artillery systems and munitions. they need armored vehicles. they need maintenance and sustainment. all of these kinds of things are included in the u.s. aid package. gen. brown: what this package

gives the ukrainians is a bit more flexibility. as you might imagine, we are very much appreciative that the supplemental was approved. they have had to actually ration and conserve munitions over time. so with this package and the follow on package because of the supplemental, it gives them more flexibility to use that capability effectively against the russian threat. reporter: thank you, mr. secretary. what made you change your mind on providing long-range attack drones? will they be included in the aid package announced earlier this week? and since you talked about this will take time, has any of the aid from the $1 billion package actually reached ukraine at this point? then, mr. chairman analysts are , cautioning us that it will take a lot of time before we will see the effects of this current aid on the battlefield . when do you think that ukrainians will have the

opportunity to, again, have the upper hand? sec. austin: in terms of the provision of the attack, as you know, we provided ukrainians those things before. they come in various types with different ranges. of course, there are mixtures of munitions here going forward. i will not get specific in terms of what we provided and when the ukrainians will actually put those munitions to use, but the key point is that they have the capability. now, that capability alone is not a silver bullet. it is the integration of that capability with the other kinds of things like storm shadow and other things that other countries are providing that really then gives them a capability to conduct a long -range campaign. i think that is what is most

important. but in terms of specifics of, you know, how many and where, i would let the ukrainians speak to that. reporter: let me follow-up, officials had expressed concerns before that the ukraine might try to fire attack drones into russia or that there weren't enough in u.s. stockpiles. did either of those affect your decision to provide the low-range attack drones? sec. austin: as you know, i always have a concern about the united states having the capability to defend itself and to also support our operational plans. and i can tell you that we are comfortable that we are in a good place and will remain in a good place. in two years time, things change. more and are created. and that is the business. so we are in a good place.

we remain in a good place and i think the capability ukraine will have is capability. so -- it is up to them on how and when to use it and our hopes are that they will create some pretty good effects with that and other things. gen. brown: to your question, i can't predict the timeline, but we can shape the future. that is exactly what that supplement has been able to do, shape the future. there are some near-term effects. now the ukrainians don't necessarily have to ration what they have because they know that things are coming out of this package and i will be follow on packages because of the supplemental which, again, gives them the flexibility and options to be able to execute. even during this timeframe, the

russians have had incremental gains a tremendous cost. tremendous costs and loss of personnel, loss of combat capability. so i do see the ukrainians with this additional support not only from our supplemental, but our engagement with counterparts this morning, he highlighted how much the supplemental will help. and as i said in my opening remarks, leaders don't stand on the sidelines. and the fact that we stepped up to provide this supplemental helps energize them and we set some of that today as we are engaged with the counterparts in the udcg. sec. austin: the russians have increased their production of of artillery munitions and other things. but they are also being propped up by the likes of north korea and iran. they had to go that direction because of, to the chairman's point, the damage ukrainians had inflicted on the land forces

there. so i think with the capabilities and the resources that will be provided, hopefully ukraine will have the ability to not only hold its own, but regenerate additional capability and then create options for itself going forward. reporter: thank you, gentlemen,. two questions. one on iran's april 14 attack against israel, could you share some takeaways of what the department has learned operationally and what the attack says about israel's qualitative military edge in relation to iran's capabilities ? secondly on the gaza humanitarian operation, how confident are you in this integrated security plan with the israeli military and do you have any concerns that close proximity of the idf to onshore logistics may draw hamas fire and potentially put aid workers at risk? sec. austin: thanks, i will

take the first question and give the chairman a chance to swing at the second question, unless if you don't want, chairman, i will take the second as well. but he wants to. i can tell. [laughter] what have we learned? a lot of things have been learned. i think the israelis were fairly confident going into this that they had the means and the technology to defend themselves. i think what we saw kind of proves that. they were -- there were in excess of 150 ballistic missiles fired at israel as a couple got through. what we saw was a significant display of combined cooperation between partners and allies to work together to make that a bit

easier. a bit easier for israel to defend itself. all of that came together like we thought it was because of the fact that we trained together, we rehearsed on various things together with allies and partners, and i think what you saw was the result of that. what the iranians learned, i am not really sure, but what they should learn is that, first of all, their systems don't work as advertised. that they employed a lot of munitions with the intent on creating significant damage in israel, and none of that worked. so that should give them pause. they should be questioning the effectiveness of their weapons systems and their planning, and i am sure that some of that is

probably going on. if not, it should be. so, hopefully, they don't walk away from this overconfident that they can do this at will, because israel has demonstrated that it has a significant ability to defend itself. gen. brown: mr. secretary, i appreciate you deferring that second question to me. sec. austin: anytime i can help. [laughter] sec. austin: before i get to the second question, i am very proud of our joined forces and what they were able to do with our allies and partners that night. thinking about one of the fighter squadrons that showed up a day prior and they were right in the middle of the fight and that says something to our level of training, of capability, and then to be to do that as part of a joint team like that and having done integrated missile defense, pretty much involved as

a 1-star, having been the air component commander and knowing what they went through, i couldn't be more proud of them. on the second question on israelis and support for the pier, we are taking our force protection of the pier itself very seriously. what the israelis are doing is basically building a buffer zone to keep the threat away from our forces, but also from the distribution of the aid. as you might imagine, we will have contract tracks and the like and the aid agencies need to be protected, as well. because if it is not protected, it interrupts the distribution of aid that is so important to the citizens of gaza. reporter: thank you. i have one on ukraine and one on africa. russia's war machine is in full gear, as chairman brown said, it

is aggressively reconstituting its military. the european command says russia has, quote, brought back to what they were before. they invaded in 2022 and they are quickly replenishing their ground forces as well so my question is why has russia been able to reconstitute so effectively? are u.s. allies going to be able to keep up and surpass russia's defense industrial costs so that ukraine doesn't fall behind? then i have a second on africa for the chairman. sec. austin: great question. i think i touched upon this a bit russia has ramped up its production. all of their defense industry really answers directly to the state, so it is easier for them to do that a bit quicker. but the reason that they are where they are right now is because they have relied on the

likes of north korea and iran to prop them up. and without that, they would be in a much worse position. and even with that, the u.s. -- you asked whether or not we are going to be able to increase production in a way that not only enables ukraine, but also allows us to replenish our inventories across the board? the answer is yes. we have been focused on expanding the capacity of the industrial base for some time. what is in that supplemental, there are many needs in that supplemental that enable us to do that. in our industrial base, as i have engaged the leaders of many of the companies, they are digging in and moving out and looking for ways to shorten production times and

when the united states is faced with the challenge, will rise to meet that challenge. we always have and always will. reporter: the u.s. is fully preparing to withdraw troops from niger and troops will be withdrawn from chad as well. i will these withdraws affect counterterrorism efforts and is the u.s. losing to china and russia on the continent? gen. brown: one of the areas we are focusing on is to continue our cd operations at work with african nations on the continent , so as we are working through and adjusting, this is a conversation i have had with general langley on how we can continue to do our counterterrorism and work with nations within the region, and so it is important that we stay engaged, and that is what we are doing, and as we have to shift to work with various countries,

as the secretary told me several times we have to have ortner's in certain areas to make sure we will be able to execute, and that is something we are working through. we have proven that we can do counterterrorism any place in the world. we have the capability to strike and hold any target at risk anywhere in the world, and that is why i am so proud of our military and our capability. we have to adjust sometimes based upon the dynamics, but that is the capability we have for our forest to adjust. reporter: so the broader question of influence losing to china and russia? gen. brown: it is about ct, but at the same time our influence as we work with various nations, and i think one of the things i find is i've engaged not just in africa but around the world how much u.s. leadership is valued, and some of our adversaries will do things financially but do not

have that long-term relationship with shared values, shared actives that we have with many of our partners around the world. sec. austin: it is a big continent, and there are many countries on the continent that really due to the chairman of us value the relationship of the united states. i was just in africa in the fall , and i was struck by how true that was or is that countries really value their relationship with us, and in some cases countries that we have not had a strong relationship within the past are stepping forward asked saying they would like to have a better relationship with the united states. >> ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our press briefing. thank you very much for joining us.