Putin will be successful in Ukraine if US funding stops, Pentagon chief says

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin warns 'we'll find ourselves in a shooting match' with Russia

Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin speaks before a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Getty Images / AFP

Russia will achieve victory in Ukraine unless the US continues to send aid to Kyiv, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday, warning that American troops could ultimately end up on the front lines in Europe if President Vladimir Putin succeeds.

“I can guarantee that without our support, Putin will be successful,” Mr Austin said during a Senate budget hearing.

“If we pull the rug out from under them now, Putin will only get stronger and he will be successful in doing what he wants to do.”

President Joe Biden's administration has requested $106 billion to fund plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security. The White House request also includes money for Taiwan, which is facing threats from China.

Continued funding for Ukraine enjoys bipartisan support in the US Senate, but Republicans in the House of Representatives are increasingly against sending more money to Kyiv.

House Republicans on Monday introduced legislation that would send $14.3 in security aid to Israel, but it provides nothing for Ukraine.

The US has supplied Ukraine with more than $100 billion in military and other funding since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Mr Austin said there was “no doubt” in his mind that Mr Putin would potentially attack a Nato country if he is “allowed to continue to act with impunity”. If that happens, Nato would be obligated under its mutual defence charter to go to war with Russia, with US troops ending up on the front lines.

“If Putin is successful, he will not stop and Ukraine and if you're a Baltic state, you're thinking, 'I'm next',” the Pentagon chief said, warning that Ukrainian troops were in “dire” need of more munitions.

“There's no question in my mind that sooner or later, [Mr Putin] will challenge Nato, and we'll find ourselves in a shooting match.”

Ukraine-Russia conflict – in pictures

A soldier on alert near the front line in Andriivka, 10km south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. AP

An assault unit commander raises the Ukrainian flag as a symbol of liberation of the frontline village of Andriivka. AP

Ukrainian emergency teams out a fire in Lviv. EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Staten Island University Hospital, New York, where some Ukrainian soldiers are being treated for injuries sustained in the war. Reuters

A Ukrainian farmer surveys a destroyed grain depot on his land near the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region. EPA

Schoolchildren learn to handle rifles at a military centre in Lviv. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier fires a howitzer towards Russian troops in Donetsk region. Reuters

A sombre funeral ceremony for a Ukrainian soldier killed in Polonne, Khmelnytskyi region. AP

Ukrainian heavy armoured vehicles are driven into position in Donetsk region. Reuters

A Ukrainian cadet carries a machinegun below the Motherland Monument in Kyiv. Bloomberg