WEBVTT

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Yes ,

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it's well , good morning , everyone .

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It's great to see you all again .

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Thanks for joining us for the 23rd

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meeting of the Ukraine defense Contact

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group . I'm glad that we're joined

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again by our partners from Ukraine . Mr

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Umarov and your teammates . Thanks for

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being here as we gather this morning ,

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Ukraine's forces are in a tough fight

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in Kharkiv and elsewhere . The Kremlin

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continues to intensify its bombardment

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of Ukraine's cities and civilians and

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Ukraine urgently needs more air defense

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capabilities to defend its skies . But

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the Ukrainian people remain resilient

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and unbowed and Ukraine's forces

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continue to impress the world with

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their skill and their grip . Ukrainian

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forces are fending off Russia's new

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offensive in the Kharkiv region and

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holding strong on the front lines in

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Ukraine's East and South . It has

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been 840 days since Putin launched his

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full scale invasion of Ukraine and

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Ukraine's defenders have inflicted

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staggering losses on the Russian

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invader on the Russian invaders since

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Putin's full-scale invasion in February

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2022 at least

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350,000 Russian troops have been killed

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or wounded . Ukrainian forces have sunk ,

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destroyed or damaged 24 Russian

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vessels in the Black Sea since

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September of last year , just before

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the Kremlin began its renewed offensive .

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Russia has lost more than 2600

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combat vehicles across the front lines

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in Ukraine as Russian

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invaders move forward west of Avdiivka ,

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they lost more than 160 combat vehicles

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there in May alone . So that's just

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another reminder of the price that

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Russia has paid for Putin's imperial

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ambitions . And it's another reminder

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of Ukraine's determination and make no

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mistake . Ukraine's partners around the

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world have its back . Now .

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It's been nearly two months since

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President Biden signed the national

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security supplemental . The United

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States is continuing to deliver

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urgently needed security assistance

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through more presidential drawdown

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packages . Since the supplemental

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became law , the United States has

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already achieved already delivered tens

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of thousands of artillery rounds ,

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thousands of anti tank mines , hundreds

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of Gimler and anti tank weapons and

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more air defense capabilities to help

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Ukraine repel Russian forces near

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Kharkiv . President Biden also

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announced a new package of draw down

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assistance that will provide Ukraine

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with more air defense interceptors ,

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armored vehicles , anti tank weapons

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and artillery systems and munitions . I

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am proud that this contact group has

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committed more than $98 billion in

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security assistance to Ukraine since

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February 2022 . And this coalition

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continues to find innovative and

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sustainable ways to rush in critical

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capabilities to meet Ukraine's most

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pressing needs . Let me highlight just

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a few of them . I'm grateful to Sweden

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for announcing its largest military

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assistance package yet worth

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approximately $1.23 billion .

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And that includes two airborne

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surveillance and control aircraft which

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will be critical for Ukraine's

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long-range air surveillance . I'm also

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grateful to our host in Belgium . We

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have committed to deliver 30 F-16

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fighters to Ukraine by 2028 as well as

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an additional $1 billion in military

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aid this year . And I'd like to thank

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Spain for its recent pledge of more air

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defense missiles . And so countries are

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moving at flank speed to get Ukraine

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the capabilities that it so urgently

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needs and we must keep doing so . We

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must keep finding new solutions ,

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especially for Ukraine's air defense

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challenges and we will continue to

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support Ukraine's long term security .

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And you can see that in Ukraine's new

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bilateral security agreements with

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Belgium , Iceland , Norway , Portugal ,

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Spain and Sweden . This contact group

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is also supporting Ukraine's work to

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strengthen and modernize its forces for

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the long haul . The eight capability

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coalitions provide a practical nimble

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mechanism for allies and partners to do

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just that . I'm grateful for the

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coalition leadership group's work to

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drive progress across each capability

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coalition . And just yesterday , the

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coalition leadership group met to

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discuss the next steps to meet both

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Ukraine's short term needs and its long

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term requirements . And I look forward

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to hearing updates today from the drone

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coalition . The drone coalition is

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working to help Ukraine fend off

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Russian aggression today and deter

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Russian aggression tomorrow for its

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long term security . Ukraine needs a

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robust , effective and self reliant

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defense industry . So the United States

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is working closely with this contact

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group to strengthen Ukraine's defense

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industry and to foster joint projects .

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Now , we got a lot of work ahead for

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support for Ukraine is growing and not

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waning . In fact , I'm pleased to

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welcome Argentina as a new member ,

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Minister , Petri is glad , I'm glad to

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have you with us . And ladies and

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gentlemen , this is a critical moment .

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The stakes of this war are high and

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Ukraine's survival is on the line , but

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so is all of our security . None of us

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would want to live in a world where

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Putin prevails . We would all be less

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secure if tyrants think that they can

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trample borders and cow their neighbors .

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So we have a lot to do , but I am

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confident that this coalition will

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continue to rise to the challenge again .

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Thanks for being here today and with

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that , we'll pause for a moment while

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our friends in the media depart . Thank

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you . Go to , I know .