Pentagon Chief Visits Ukraine in Show of Support Ahead of US Election

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine on Monday, in a show of solidarity with Kyiv just two weeks ahead of a US presidential election that is casting uncertainty over the future of Western support.
Austin's trip, his fourth and likely final visit as President Joe Biden's Pentagon chief, will include in-depth discussions about US efforts to help Kyiv shore up its defenses as Russian forces gain ground in eastern Ukraine.
But it is not expected to include any new agreement to some of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's biggest requests, such as lifting Washington's restrictions on using US-supplied weapons to hit targets far beyond Ukraine's borders.
As Biden's administration winds down, Austin signaled continuity in US support.
"We're going to continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to defend its sovereign territory," Austin told reporters traveling with him to Ukraine.
"We've watched this fight evolve over time. And each time that it does evolve, we have risen to the occasion to meet (Ukraine's) needs to make sure that they were effective on the battlefield."
As Austin stepped off the train in Kyiv after an overnight journey from Poland, Ukrainian officials reported new Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital, with several waves of drones for the second night in a row, damaging residential buildings and injuring at least one civilian.
Austin's visit comes ahead of the Nov. 5 US presidential vote, in which former president Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, is seeking re-election in a close race against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate.
Trump has signaled he would be more reluctant than Biden to continue to support Ukraine, which could deprive Kyiv of its biggest military and financial backer.
Austin played down such concerns.
"I've seen bipartisan support for Ukraine over the last 2-1/2 years, and I fully expect that we'll continue to see the bipartisan support from Congress," he said.
The retired four star general has been one of Ukraine's staunchest advocates, building a coalition of dozens of nations which has supplied Kyiv with weaponry that has helped it deal heavy blows to Russian forces.
One US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia had suffered 600,000 casualties of killed and wounded troops in Ukraine so far, with September being its heaviest month of fatalities and injuries.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin seems content to invest more and more forces in a costly advance in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, which Moscow claims as its own territory.
In recent weeks, Russia has surrounded towns in the Donetsk region and then slowly constricted them until Ukrainian units are forced to withdraw.
"It's a very tough fight and it's a tough slog," Austin said.
'VICTORY PLAN'
Meanwhile, Kyiv has been seeking to keep its war in focus in the West, even as the expanding conflicts in the Middle East grab the international spotlight.
Zelenskiy last met Austin last Thursday at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he pitched his "victory plan". He received pledges of continued support but no endorsement from key allies of his call for an immediate NATO-membership invitation.
Asked on Friday in Brussels about the victory plan, Austin said: "It's not my position to evaluate publicly his plan."
Kyiv may need to start making tough decisions about how to employ its stretched fighting forces, including whether it will hold onto territory Kyiv seized in Russia's Kursk region in a surprise offensive this summer, experts say.
The Kursk offensive caught Austin and the US government off-guard. Kyiv hoped it would wrest the battlefield initiative from Russia, including by diverting Moscow's forces from the eastern front.
But Putin has remained focused on seizing the key city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, which is an important logistics hub for Kyiv's war effort.
Even with billions of dollars worth of US military support, including the provision of F-16 fighter jets, Abrams tanks and more, Ukraine faces a tough fight ahead.
Although its invasion of Ukraine has inflicted blows to Russia's economy, made it more isolated diplomatically and battered its military, Russia "is not ready to call it quits", a senior US defense official said.
"And so that does place a steep burden on the Ukrainians," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A helicopter crashed Sunday in Houston, killing four people on board and destroying a radio tower, officials said.

The helicopter went down just before 8 p.m. in Houston's Second Ward, east of the city's downtown, after taking off from Ellington Field, which is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) away, Mayor John Whitmire said at a news conference. He didn't know its destination.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a social media post that it was investigating the crash of the Robinson R44 II helicopter.

The private helicopter with four people on board, including a child, either struck a cable or the tower, Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said at the news conference. As far as officials know, there was no one on the ground when the crash occurred, he said. The identities of the victims and their ages have not yet been released, The AP reported.

Firefighters at a nearby station heard the crash and responded, Whitmire said. Area residents were safe, but there was a “terrible accident scene” with multiple fatalities and the tower and helicopter were destroyed, Whitmire said. Some area residents lost power, Whitmire said.

“It is surrounded by residences and that’s where we were very fortunate — that it didn’t topple in one direction or another,” Whitmire said.

A large area of grass caught fire, but no nearby residences were damaged, just the tower, according to Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz.

“The helicopter that crashed in Second Ward was not an HPD helicopter, it was a private touring helicopter,” Houston City Councilmember Mario Castillo said on X, although that could not be immediately confirmed.

Police and fire officials have urged residents near the crash site to call 911 if they find anything on their property that could help in their investigation. In addition to the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Public Safety and Houston fire and police were involved in the investigation, officials said.

Pentagon Chief Visits Ukraine in Show of Support Ahead of US Election