Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin delivered opening remarks at the 9th Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Brussels, Belgium.

“I’m proud to be here with representatives from across the globe, and we"re here to reaffirm our resounding support for a free and sovereign Ukraine.

Nearly one year ago, Putin began his unprovoked and indefensible invasion of Ukraine. Putin thought that in a matter of days, his forces would seize Kyiv and overthrow Ukraine"s democratically-elected government, and he thought that the international community would just live with it.

As President Biden said last week in his State of the Union address, Putin’s invasion has been a test for the ages and a test for the world. Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve responded by standing up for our shared values of sovereignty and freedom, and we’ve risen to this challenge with unity and resolve.

We’ve moved out with urgency, the urgency that the moment demands, and time and time again, it has mattered that we delivered on what we promised to Ukraine. Russia did not prevail, Kyiv did not fall and Ukraine"s friends did not falter.

In the year since Putin"s war of choice began, Ukrainian soldiers have won the battles of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson. They’ve pushed back invading Russian forces with Javelins and Stingers and other systems donated by the countries in this room.

The world was inspired by the resilience of Ukraine’s people and the courage of Ukraine"s troops. Even in the face of setbacks, Ukraine has shown that it will prevail. And more countries have rushed to help Ukraine fight for its territory, its sovereignty and its freedom, and your presence here just proves that countries of goodwill from all around the world continue to step up and to ensure that any setbacks are only temporary”, - said Lloyd Austin.