Lloyd Austin: “The U.S. goal is for Russia to be weakened militarily.”

We want to see, at the end of the day, a Ukraine that is a democratic, independent, and sovereign state.

We owe it to the members of the community to ensure that we do in fact do this.

This decision to supply these mines was essentially a reflection of a change in tactics by the Russians.

We had to make some tough but responsible choices, and we prioritized near-term readiness.