1 year ago
82 U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (L) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley (R) enactment successful a quality briefing astatine the Pentagon May 23, 2022 successful Arlington, Virginia.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon connected Wednesday slammed Russia's barrage of rocket strikes crossed Ukrainian cities and said that Moscow's deliberate targeting of vigor infrastructure is simply a warfare crime.
"While assessments are ongoing, yesterday's strikes looked similar they launched astatine slightest 60 missiles and they whitethorn person launched upwards of 90 oregon adjacent possibly 100," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley told reporters astatine the Pentagon alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
"It was apt the largest question of missiles that we've seen since the opening of the war," Milley said, adding that "the deliberate targeting of the civilian powerfulness grid, causing excessive collateral harm and unnecessary suffering connected the civilian colonisation is simply a warfare crime."
Milley added that much than a 4th of Ukrainians are estimated to beryllium without powerfulness passim the state and that galore families volition beryllium without vigor arsenic the harsh wintertime play approaches.
Austin called Russia's rocket and rocket attacks connected civilian infrastructure "deliberate cruelty" and called connected Moscow to extremity its "war of choice."
"Russia could enactment an extremity to it [the war] close now, but they won't. They're going to proceed that combat until the wintertime arsenic champion we tin tell," Milley added.
The 2 leaders' remarks to reporters astatine the Pentagon followed the seventh gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a conjugation of astir 50 countries supporting Kyiv's subject needs.
Austin reaffirmed U.S. committedness to supply Ukraine with further information assistance for "as agelong arsenic it takes. He added that truthful acold the Biden medication has allocated much than $18 cardinal successful weapons and aid.
"All Ukraine is asking for is the means to combat and we are determined to supply that means," Milley said.
The gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group came hours aft an detonation successful Poland sparked Western concerns that Russia's struggle successful Ukraine was spilling implicit into NATO subordinate countries.
Earlier connected Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said determination was no denotation that the rocket that struck the Polish borderline village was deliberate.
Stoltenberg added that archetypal assessments recovered that the incidental was caused by an aerial defence rocket launched to "defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise rocket attacks."
He added that Russia was yet to blame, though, since Moscow provoked the struggle with a full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful precocious February.
"Let maine beryllium clear, this is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears eventual work arsenic it continues its amerciable warfare against Ukraine," helium said.
Austin echoed akin sentiments from the Pentagon, saying, "the satellite knows that Russia bears eventual work for this incident."
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy requested entree to the tract successful Poland and for Ukrainian inspectors to articulation the ongoing probe to summation a amended knowing of the detonation that took place.
