Pentagon chief visits Ukraine in show of support ahead of US election

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced $400 million in new arms for Ukraine on Monday during a visit to Kyiv, in a show of solidarity just two weeks ahead of a U.S. presidential election that is casting uncertainty over the future of Western support.

Austin's trip, his fourth and likely final visit as President Joe Biden's Pentagon chief, focused on U.S. efforts to help Kyiv shore up its defences as Russian forces slowly but steadily gain ground in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a statement on X, appeared to renew calls for Washington to ease restrictions on using U.S.-supplied weapons to hit targets deep in Russian territory.

As Biden's administration winds down, Austin, however, signalled continuity in U.S. support, and announced no changes to U.S. policy.

"The United States understands the stakes here, Mr. President," Austin told Zelenskiy during a meeting, as he announced additional munitions, armoured vehicles and anti-tank weapons for Ukraine.

As Austin stepped off the train in Kyiv after an overnight journey from Poland, Ukrainian officials reported new Russian attacks overnight on the Ukrainian capital that damaged residential buildings and injured at least one civilian.

Austin's visit comes ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential vote, in which former president Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, is seeking re-election in a close race against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate.

Trump has signalled he would be more reluctant than Biden to continue to support Ukraine, which could deprive Kyiv of its biggest military and financial backer.

Austin played down such concerns.

"I've seen bipartisan support for Ukraine over the last 2-1/2 years, and I fully expect that we'll continue to see the bipartisan support from Congress," he said.

The retired four star general has been one of Ukraine's staunchest advocates, building a coalition of dozens of nations which has supplied Kyiv with weaponry that has helped it deal heavy blows to Russian forces.

One U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia had suffered 600,000 casualties of killed and wounded troops in Ukraine so far, with September being its heaviest month of fatalities and injuries.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin seems content to invest more and more forces in a costly advance in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, which Moscow claims as its own territory.

In recent weeks, Russia has surrounded towns in the Donetsk region and then slowly constricted them until Ukrainian units are forced to withdraw.

"It's a very tough fight and it's a tough slog," Austin said.

Meanwhile, Kyiv has been seeking to keep its war in focus in the West, even as the expanding conflicts in the Middle East grab the international spotlight.

Zelenskiy last met Austin last Thursday at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he pitched his "victory plan". He received pledges of continued support but no endorsement from key allies of his call for an immediate NATO-membership invitation.

Asked on Friday in Brussels about the victory plan, Austin said: "It's not my position to evaluate publicly his plan."

Kyiv may need to start making tough decisions about how to employ its stretched fighting forces, including whether it will hold onto territory Kyiv seized in Russia's Kursk region in a surprise offensive this summer, experts say.

The Kursk offensive caught the United States off-guard.

Kyiv hoped it would wrest the battlefield initiative from Russia, including by diverting Moscow's forces from the eastern front. But Putin has remained focused on seizing the key city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, which is an important logistics hub for Kyiv's war effort.

Even with billions of dollars worth of U.S. military support, including the provision of F-16 fighter jets, Abrams tanks and more, Ukraine faces a tough fight ahead.

Although its invasion of Ukraine has inflicted blows to Russia's economy, made it more isolated diplomatically and battered its military, Russia "is not ready to call it quits", a senior U.S. defence official said.

"And so that does place a steep burden on the Ukrainians," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.