US Defense Secretary Austin arrives in Ukraine amid Russian gains [Video]

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit Monday, hours after a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital and as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushes Western partners to keep providing military support for the war.Austin said on the X platform that his fourth visit shows “that the United States, alongside the international community, continues to stand by Ukraine.”Ukraine is having difficulty holding back a ferocious Russian campaign along the eastern front that is gradually compelling Kyiv’s forces to give up a series of towns, villages and hamlets.Zelenskyy is urging Western allies to support his so-called ‘victory plan’ to end the almost three-year war, which is Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides, including many civilians.His strategy includes a formal invitation for Ukraine to join NATO and permission to use Western long-range missiles to strike …