U.S. Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin says it is for Ukraine to determine what any victory appears like within the warfare.

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U.S. Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin says it is for Ukraine to determine what any victory appears like within the warfare.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Photographs

U.S. Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin says the U.S. is dedicated to placing Ukraine in the absolute best place to finish Russia’s unprovoked invasion, “whether or not or not the combating continues, or whether or not or not they determine to go to the negotiating desk” — however he declined to say whether or not battlefield victories or diplomacy had been the shared finish purpose.

“Ukraine is gonna determine what victory’s gonna seem like,” Secretary Austin advised NPR’s Ari Shapiro. “So I do not need to communicate for President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy or the Ukrainian folks.”

Sec. Austin additionally put the onus of the warfare’s end result on Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting Russia’s important losses during the last yr.

“They are often pushed out, or Putin can determine to take his forces again out of Ukraine as a result of he is in such a nasty place,” he mentioned. “Everyone knows this warfare is occurring due to one man; one man’s want to erase his neighbor’s boundaries and occupy his neighbor’s territory.”

U.S. President Joe Biden walks subsequent to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his shock go to in Kyiv on Feb. 20.

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U.S. President Joe Biden walks subsequent to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his shock go to in Kyiv on Feb. 20.

Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP by way of Getty Photographs

This interview has been flippantly edited for size and readability.

Interview highlights

On how he sees the warfare in Ukraine ending

We’re gonna concentrate on what’s in entrance of us proper now and put [Ukraine] in the absolute best place to proceed to achieve success. And I feel that’ll lead us to Ukraine being in, once more, a very good a very good place, whether or not or not the combating continues; or whether or not or not they determine to go to the negotiating desk.

On U.S. Joint Chiefs of Employees Chairman Mark Milley’s November prediction that Ukraine cannot obtain the purpose of driving all Russians from Ukraine, together with Crimea

I do not need to speculate at this level. I feel, you recognize, my purpose is to supply the capabilities required to attain their goals. And that is what me and the chairman are going to proceed to remain centered on.

I imply, they are often pushed out, or Putin can determine to take his forces again out of Ukraine as a result of he is in such a nasty place. And that might occur as nicely. He might do that right this moment. And everyone knows that that is this warfare is occurring due to one man; one man’s want to erase his neighbor’s boundaries and occupy his neighbor’s territory. And that is, once more, unjustified, unprovoked. And Putin might finish this at any cut-off date sooner or later.

On whether or not the U.S. would think about a Russian retreat from most of Ukraine outdoors of some components of the east and Crimea a victory

Ukraine is gonna determine what victory’s gonna seem like. And so I do not need to communicate for President Zelenskyy or the Ukrainian folks. I feel that is for them to determine.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Polish President Andrzej Duda overview a army honor guard throughout a welcoming ceremony prior talks on the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Feb. 21.

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U.S. President Joe Biden and Polish President Andrzej Duda overview a army honor guard throughout a welcoming ceremony prior talks on the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Feb. 21.

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On whether or not he thinks calls to convey Russia to the negotiating desk will develop from allies throughout the Ukraine Protection Contact Group

I can not predict somehow how nations are going to view this, post-offensive. I imagine that being profitable on a battlefield will put us in the absolute best stance to proceed operations, and likewise, if there may be some kind of negotiation sooner or later, Ukraine could have a powerful hand and on the negotiating desk.

On what he expects in spring offensive operations from Russia and Ukraine

Nicely, as we have seen for the final a number of weeks, combating across the Bakhmut space has been fairly intense.

Russia continues to pour in massive numbers of troops which might be ill-trained and ill-equipped. In lots of circumstances, these troops are assembly their demise briefly order. And so we will count on to see extra of that.

As Ukraine works to the maintain it floor, it is also constructing fight energy … So I feel that that may present Ukraine a possibility to start to alter the dynamics on the battlefield.