Defence Secretary Austin interacts with Ukrainian troops training in US

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III on Sunday spoke to the Ukrainian troops training in the United States who are returning home.

He made it clear that America will continue to provide Ukrainian with assistance.

"This morning, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ukrainian troops training in the U.S. who are returning home to Ukraine today. Their bravery and skill are amazing. I made clear the US will continue to provide them with the assistance they need," Austin said in a Tweet.

Meanwhile, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby on Friday said that the US wants Ukrainians to "win" the ongoing war with Russia.

During a press briefing, Kirby noted that Ukrainian lives are destroyed, hence America wants to see the war end.

"We want Ukrainians to win this war, to see Ukraine not have to fight for its own sovereignty as it has been for eight years. We want to see Putin and Russian army lose this invasion. Ukrainian lives are destroyed and obviously, we want to see that end," he said.

He also said that the Ukrainian forces could use intelligence information provided by the US to conduct counterattacks against Russia.

"When we say we want to help the Ukrainians defend themselves, we're talking about the aggregate effort here... We're trying to give them useful information and intelligence that allows them to defend themselves, to push back, to resist, to fight against - you can call it whatever you want - this Russian invasion, and if they were to use some of that information to conduct a counterattack, then so be it," Kirby said during a press briefing.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations.

Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised to help Ukraine with military aid to fight Russia.

( With inputs from ANI )

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