Press Release
☷Senior Defense Official Holds a Background Briefing
U.S. Department of Defense ( By Press Release office)
Apr 29,2022
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SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Okay , good morning , everybody . Thanks for hanging in with me and happy Friday to you all . We ' ll - - we ' ll go through some operational stuff first - - not a whole lot of changes - - and then I ' ll - - I ' ll shift from that to - - to the security assistance and - - and the training piece . Again , not a whole lot of updates from yesterday , and then we ' ll get to your questions . So here we are on day 64 . We ' ve observed more than 1 , 950 , now , missile launches . I would tell you that the - - the - - the preponderance of strikes still are in the JFO and Mariupol , and I would add that in Mariupol , what we ' re seeing , a predominance of the ordinance being dropped is dumb ordinance , not precision - guided , and - - and we think that that speaks to challenges that the Russians are having with PGM replenishment . We have also observed , as you guys have all seen , you know , some increasing strike activities in central Ukraine , including Kyiv , as - - as well as Western Ukraine , including Odesa and the Odesa area . Again , I - - I want to be careful here . We - - we don ' t have perfect visibility into Russian targeting and - - and the Russian mindset as to everything they ' re doing . But in general , what we think they ' re trying to do is get at the ability of the Ukrainians to - - to replenish their own stores and to reinforce themselves . So for instance , we ' re seeing at - - at least attempted attacks on - - on electrical power facilities , perhaps because the Russians believe if they can knock out some electricity , they can affect the ability of trains , for instance , to move . So it - - it ' s - - it ' s not a perfect picture . For instance , in Kyiv , some of the strikes in Kyiv we believe were meant for - - for military production capabilities . Now , I know that there ' s reports that they hit residential areas . We have no reason to doubt that they did , but we don ' t believe at 100 percent certain that they meant to hit residential areas . In other words , they could have been misses . The - - the strikes around Odesa are a little bit more difficult to discern exactly what they ' re doing there . We still don ' t see any - - any amphibious move on Odesa , or any ground move on Odesa . Again , it could be of a piece - - could be of a piece of their efforts to try to pin down Ukrainian forces in the area between Odesa and Mykolaiv so that they can ' t come to the assistance of their colleagues further in the east in the Donbas area . We - - we ' re not 100 percent sure . I don ' t want to own their thought process; I ' m just trying to give you what we - - what we kind of think . Now , in the Donbas area , again , still fighting over in - - in various different locations . We believe that essentially what they ' re doing is - - is continuing to set conditions for a sustained and larger and longer offensive; that I am not suggesting that offensive hasn ' t begun . Of course , they ' ve begun . There is fighting there . But we still think that it is of a piece of their trying to set the proper conditions for - - for sustained offensive operations . They have made some - - the Russians now have made some incremental , uneven and slow advances to the southeast and southwest of Izyum . They appear to be advancing toward towards Sloviansk and a place called Barvinkoe . They continue to use - - and this is , again , we ' ve talked about this before , given what we expected them to do in the Donbas and - - and the importance of long - range fires , but what we see them doing is using artillery and some airstrikes in advance of their ground movements . And so their ground movements are fairly plodding because A , the artillery and airstrikes that they are launching against Ukrainian positions are not having the effect that they want them to have . The Ukrainians are still able to resist a number - - and - - and B , they ' re still a little wary of getting out ahead of their supply lines . They don ' t want to make the same mistakes that they ' ve made in Kyiv , and so we think they ' re - - they ' re making this sort of plodding , uneven progress , but it is very doctrinal in its approach: launch airstrikes , artillery strikes in advance of - - of ground movements , and then only - - only then , when you think you ' ve softened up the Ukrainian lines do you start to move your ground units . But they ' re running straight into stiff Ukrainian resistance . So that ' s why we think this progress has been slow and uneven still over the last 24 hours . We also assess that because of this slow and uneven progress , again , without perfect knowledge of every aspect of the Russian plan , we do believe and assess that they are behind schedule in what they were trying to accomplish in the Donbas . We still believe that - - that they want to - - that - - that they want to press the Ukrainians from three - - from three directions: from the east , where they already have Russian forces in the - - the - - the eastern part of the Donbas region and have had for eight years; from the north , we just talked about that coming out of Izyum; and then from the south coming out of Mariupol . I do not have today a - - a number of how many troops have left Mariupol and are moving north . I - - I know I ' m going to get asked that question . I ' m trying to get ahead of you here . I don ' t have that number , but we still assess that they are moving forces , trying to move north out of Mariupol and so that they can approach the Ukrainian Armed Forces from that southerly direction . But again , we would assess that their progress in doing so has been slow and uneven , and certainly not decisive in any - - in any event . Today , we believe that they - - they still have 92 operational BTGs in Ukraine , but that doesn ' t mean , as I said yesterday , that these are all - - BTGs are full - up rounds . Yes , they ' re operational . They ' re capable of - - of conducting combat operations , but as I said yesterday , we believe they have suffered attrition . They have suffered losses . Not all these BTGs are - - are at 100 percent capability , and we also assess that part of this is not - - is - - is obviously , the - - the fighting that ' s going on , but also because , you know , they - - they were fairly rushed in reinforcing some of these units into the east . You know , we - - we talked a couple of weeks ago about how they are moving troops out of Kyiv and Chernihiv and - - and they were to move them to the east to Velykyi and to Belgorod and refit them and resupply them . And that happened , but it happened at a fairly clipped - - a fairly - fast clip , and - - and so we don ' t assess that every BTG that was put back in was put back in even at full strength . So just something to - - to note . They , again , they ' re trying to overcome , you know , some of those challenges they had . We ' ve said that before , but it is absolutely not clear that they have solved all their problems , and so we would not assess that - - that they - - that they - - that they have everything in place that they need to be fully - successful . That ' s it . Of course , they have a numeric advantage and they are concentrating more force in a smaller geographic area , so we have to take that into account . And again , the Ukrainians are putting up a strong resistance throughout the - - throughout the area . There ' s absolutely nothing to update in the maritime environment . I ' m not even going to go through all the details with you , cause there ' s really nothing changed from yesterday . So I ' m not going to waste your time with that . And on security assistance , still a - - still a little bit more than 60 percent now of the howitzers have transferred to - - into Ukrainian military hands . That ' s not a change from yesterday , it ' s about 60 percent , but there ' s been no numeric changes from yesterday . Let ' s see . Got about - - you know , the - - the - - the 155 artillery rounds continue to - - to flow into Ukraine , even over the last 24 hours , and more and more are getting into the region for further shipment into Ukraine , but that - - that - - they are arriving in there . In the next 24 hours , more than a dozen flights are expected from the continental United States and - - and that will include howitzers , more 155 rounds , some of those Phoenix Ghost UAVs , and - - and even some of the radars that we talked about . So the - - that ' s on PDA - 8 , and like I said , more than a dozen flights expected in the next 24 hours . In - - let ' s see - - see if I can find anything else interesting in here . I would say in the last 24 hour , there have been almost 20 deliveries via airlift from seven different nations that have been received in the region at multiple locations , with - - with everything from mines to - - to small caliber rounds and rockets , 122 millimeter rockets , helmets , body armor , 155 - - I ' m sorry , that ' s from the United States - - but so lots of things coming in from other nations as well . On the training side , we ' ve got that second class of more than 50 Ukrainian military . They ' re - - they ' re now , I think , in day three of their training outside Ukraine . There ' s additional howitzer training for more additional Ukrainians , almost 100 more getting howitzer training at - - at a different location outside Ukraine . The - - there are about 15 Ukrainians that are now in day two of a week - long course on the Q - 64 , and about 60 of them are - - commenced training yesterday . As I said on the M113 , that - - that ' ll be broken up , that’s a the five day thing . You ' ve got about three days that are dedicated to maintaining that - - that piece of gear and two days dedicated to learning how to drive it . So that ' s about a five day thing and it began yesterday . And I think I ' ll stop there and we ' ll take questions . Let ' s see . Lita , you ' re on . Q: Hi , thanks . One quick question on the American who was apparently killed in Ukraine , Joseph Cancel Willy ( sic ) - - or Willy Joseph . Do you have anything more on him or - - and I know you had very little visibility into Americans that may have gone over there to fight but is - - is there anything you are gleaning on - - on that And then just a broader question on the training , is the U . S . helping to facilitate the movement of the Ukrainian soldiers to training And just give us a - - sort of a - - a better picture of - - I know you don ' t want to say where it ' s happening but sort of how this is being sort of constructed SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yeah , so on the - - on the - - on the individual killed , Lita , we don ' t have any information on - - on him , we - - we - - we just don ' t . We have - - we have no way of tracking individual Americans that decide to - - to go fight in Ukraine . I - - let me just say what I - - you know , our - - our - - our thoughts and - - and - - and prayers go out to his family . We understand from press reporting that - - you know , that he - - that he was married and - - and had a - - a - - a young child , and that ' s - - that ' s just horrible - - horrible news for any family to get . And - - and the - - and the Department of Defense sends its deepest condolences to all his family and - - and loved ones . We - - we continue to urge Americans not to go to Ukraine . It is an active war zone . This is not the place and it ' s not the time for Americans to travel to Ukraine , no matter how altruistic they may be . Now , what we would encourage Americans to do is contribute to any number of non - governmental and non - profit organizations that are trying to contribute to humanitarian assistance there - - Red Cross is a great example . If you want to help Ukraine as a private citizen , that ' s the best way to do that . On your other question , without getting into too many specific details - - and I ' m not going to if pressed - - I ' m just not going to go there , guys - - but yes , we have , in - - in many cases , helped with the transportation of Ukrainian soldiers to training sites , not helping them get out of Ukraine . So I do not want to leave you with the impression that we ' re going into Ukraine and we ' re flying - - we ' re transporting Ukrainian soldiers out of the country . That is not happening . But once they are out of the country , in the past , in certain circumstances , we have helped get them to their training locations and we will assist in - - in getting them from those training locations back to a position where they can reenter Ukraine . We are not - - not transporting soldiers from inside Ukraine out of Ukraine . We - - as the President said , there ' s not going to be any U . S . forces fighting in Ukraine , and so we are not - - we are not participating in that , but we are helping with their - - with - - with some of the transportation to get them to - - to training locations . But again , let me just stress , that transportation starts and ends outside of Ukraine . Does that answer your question Q: Yes , on that . Do you have any sort of ballpark goal about how many Ukrainian soldiers who are looking forward to trying to train , either the U . S . or the U . S . along with allies - - I mean , what - - can you give us sort of a sense of the scope going forward SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: We ' re not being driven by a numeric - - numeric goal of - - of - - of numbers of - - of trainers . This isn ' t like a - - it ' s not like boot camp , where you - - you ' ve got sort of quotas you have to meet every quarter or every year . We are working with the Ukrainians and - - and - - and having a collaborative discussion with them about how many trainers they want trained on a given system . So for the radars , you just don ' t need that many , and so it ' s a - - it ' s - - it ' s about 15 in this first tranche . And we ' ll see what the next tranches need to be . For the - - for the first two tranches of artillerymen being trained , it was roughly - - it was a little bit more than 50 . It wasn ' t exactly the same number for - - for the second , as well - - as it was for the first , but it was around 50 . And that was a decision made in concert with the Ukrainians . I mean , obviously it ' s their choice how many they send . But it - - it really is driven by how many the Ukrainians want trained on a given system and how they expect to use those trainers when they - - when they go back into Ukraine . Where are they going to go What units are they going to train How many training sessions are they going to conduct , for how long All that ' s being decided by the Ukrainians . So we ' re not driven by a numeric goal . We ' re driven by meeting a capability . And that ' s all been fully consulted and baked with the Ukrainians . Now , look , it will go on for as long as it needs to go on . I mean , Secretary Austin was very clear , certainly when we were in Europe just this week , that we ' re going to help get them the capabilities they need . And part of helping with that is making sure they know how to use some of the capabilities they ' re not familiar with . And we ' ll just keep - - we ' ll keep doing that for as long as we need to . Sylvie Q: Sorry . Sorry . I ' m here . You said that the weapons are just starting arriving . So you - - do you see any effect of the - - the - - of the new weapons on the ground already Do you see any effect of , you know , the heavier weapons that you have been sending SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yeah , Sylvie , so I can ' t point to specific battles in which our howitzers have been used yet . They - - they ' re just arriving in the country . They ' re being married up now with the trainers . The Ukrainians would have a much better sense of - - of how their training is going in there and the degree to which these howitzers have been used . I - - I hasten to remind everybody that , once we transfer these systems into Ukraine , they are Ukrainian property . And the Ukrainians determine where they are , how they ' re used and - - and to what affect , not the United States . And we don ' t have - - you know , we don ' t have an ability to know where every single system is , on any given day , and the degree to which it ' s being effective . So I would refer you to the Ukrainian armed forces to speak to specifically the howitzers . All I can tell you is that - - that - - that , you know , 60 percent of - - of the 90 that we committed to are in the - - are in the country . And - - and I can ' t - - I honestly just can ' t go further than that . And we do believe that - - I will say this , we do believe that these howitzers will be , when applied , can be very , very effective in helping them in the Donbas fight , which we ' ve already seen is deeply reliant on long - range fires , specifically artillery , by both sides . So we - - we firmly believe that these howitzers , once put in the fight , will be effective in the fight . David Martin Okay , nothing heard . Tony Capaccio Q: Hi , there . What - - when will the DOD detail the $16 billion portion of the supplemental How and when will it be made public , sir Is the comptroller going to be sending a letter to the defense committees , or how is it going to work out SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I - - I don ' t have an update for you on what communication the comptroller ' s going to have with Congress on this , Tony . I mean , obviously we need to get it approved so we can start to fill it out . I suspect that we will already be doing some - - some pen - to - paper work on what we would want in the - - in both the - - in both the $6 billion for USAI and what we would want to purchase , as well as the $5 billion for - - for PDA and what would come into that . I - - I know that there are planners that are starting to put pen to paper on what that - - what specific systems - - but we don ' t want to get too far ahead , either , because we don ' t know when Congress will approve it or even , quite frankly , if they ' ll approve it . And we want to make sure that , as we fill these out , we ' re doing it in concert with the Ukrainians and they need in the moment , or what - - or for the future moment . And so our focus right now is on completing PDA - 8 and - - and having continued conversations with them about their - - their needs going forward . So I ' m afraid I just don ' t have a specific update for you , but I can assure you that we are already beginning to think about what - - what kinds of systems could be in there . But , again , we won ' t make those decisions unilaterally . We ' ll make them in concert , full concert with the Ukrainians . Q: Okay , a lot of - - lot of attention on the howitzers . At this point , can you say , though , that they haven ' t actually started firing on Russian forces and that the artillery duel , so to speak , is yet to come SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Tony , as I said to Sylvie , we - - we simply don ' t know . We just don ' t know . And I can ' t tell you that we - - that we will know , unless in fact the Ukrainians tell us , "Hey , we used your howitzer in - - in a certain location , at a certain time , with a certain effect . "But we - - we may not have that kind of granularity , Tony . Q: Sure , and one other thing . What ' s the status of the delivery of the 700 Switchblades and the 121 Ghost - - Phoenix Ghost drones that have been committed to the Ukraine And have - - have Ukrainian soldiers actually been trained on the Ghost Phoenix at this point - - Phoenix Ghost SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yeah , I think that , as far as I know , there hasn ' t been - - there hasn ' t been training on the - - on the Phoenix Ghost yet . We - - again , we believe that a first tranche of those drones should be arriving in the region today , but not all 121 , but a first tranche of them will be arriving in - - in the region today . And , again , we ' re still working out how the specific training is going to be done on this . We don ' t believe that the training will - - ( CROSSTALK ) SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Tony , just let me finish for a second . We don ' t believe that the training will take very long for - - for pilots that have some existing UAS knowledge . It shouldn ' t take very long . Q: And the Switchblades , the 700 that have been committed What ' s the status of those , roughly SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I don ' t have an update for you on that . Q: Okay , thank you . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Well , actually , let me just - - Q: Yeah , if you - - go through your cheat sheet there . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Thank you for giving me that permission . So total , right now , we ' re still at 100 of the Switchblades . Q: Okay , thank you . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yeah . Okay , Phil Stewart Q: Hey . There was a German magazine report saying that U . S . special forces were inside Ukraine training Ukrainians on urban warfare techniques . Just double - checking , are there any - - has there been any change to the disposition , the idea that U . S . forces are allowed or not allowed to go into Ukraine to do training Thanks . ( AUDIO GAP ) Q: We can ' t hear anything , by the way . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Can you guys hear me now Q: Now we can . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Hello ( CROSSTALK ) SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: - - what the hell happened there . Phil , did you get my answer Q: No , no , no , no . I thought maybe the question was , like , you know , a - - a shocker and the systems went down . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: No , it wasn ' t a shocker . I guess the system screwed up . What I was saying is there are no U . S . forces training in Ukraine . Q: Thanks so much . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Okay . Eric Schmitt Q: Two questions . You said in your introductory comments that the Russians are behind schedule in what they ' re trying to achieve in the Donbas . How far behind schedule are they , in your estimate And what had the Pentagon - - what have they thought they would have been able to achieve by this point Then I ' ve got a - - one more question . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I ' d say , just in general , we ' d assess , cause it ' s different on every line of - - of approach , Eric , but I think you ' re - - be fine if you said that we believe they ' re at least several days behind where they wanted to be . But again , it varies on the line , whether it ' s from the north or the south . And we - - we believe that they - - they - - they meant to be much further along , in terms of a total encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the east , and they have not been able to link north with south . In fact , they ' re nowhere close to linking north with south as the Ukrainians continue to fight back . Q: And the second question is there was a statement out of NATO I think overnight or early this morning about over the past four days , NATO aircraft have gone up to intercept Russian warplanes in both the Baltic and Black Seas . No contact made but just wanted to get your sense of what this means at this time , over the last four days , of the significance of these - - of these intercepts Thank you . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yeah , I - - I - - I checked on this myself . I - - I ' ve learned that NATO has offered an additional statement , making it clear that - - that all these - - these interchanges were safe and professional . There was no threat by Russian aircraft to - - to NATO airspace or NATO territory , that these were more normal intercepts . And again , you know , the NATO air policing effort is long longstanding , years long , and there ' s routine interchanges with - - with Russian aircraft as a result of that air policing mission . And the indications that I ' ve gotten this morning is that - - that those - - those exchanges in the last 24 hours were also kind of akin to that safe and professional , did not pose a threat . Felicia Schwartz Q: Thanks . Can you update us on Russia ' s nuclear posture amid renewed threats from Putin this week What ' s the latest U . S . assessment on whether Russia would use tactical nuclear weapons SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: We continue to monitor their nuclear capabilities every day the best we can and we do not assess that there is a threat of the use of nuclear weapons and no threat to NATO territory . And the last thing I will say is that as he does every day , the - - the Secretary assesses our own strategic deterrent posture and he has seen no reason to change that strategic deterrent posture . Lara Seligman Q: Hey . Thanks for doing this . I just wanted to ask you a big picture question . Just given what you ' ve been saying about the logistical issues that Russia has been having with logistics and PGMs , how does the Pentagon assess broadly that the - - the fight in the Donbas is going for Ukraine Do you assess that they ' re going to continue to be able to hold against Russia And can you give us any details of - - for how long you think this might last SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: It ' s very difficult , Lara , to - - to predict with certainty the future of war . I - - I - - I think any - - anybody here would - - would - - would be humble about that . And it ' s very hard to make specific predictions about a war we ' re not fighting . I would just tell you that the Ukrainians continue to resist effectively in the Donbas . We - - you know , one of the reasons why we think they ' re - - the Russians are behind schedule is because of the Ukrainian resistance . And we ' re doing everything we can , as well as , you know , 40 other nations , to help the Ukrainians continue that - - that - - that defense . Now , look , we ' ve also been honest about now that the fighting has shifted to the Donbas , an area which is more confined geographically , where they have shorter lines of communication - - the Russians - - that they have certainly superior numbers and that - - that they can now - - they ' re trying to learn from some of their previous mistakes , that the fighting there could become prolonged . And I know everybody wants to get , you know - - what does that mean I - - I - - we can ' t tell you , we don ' t know . Weeks , months , we ' re - - we ' re not sure . But we - - we certainly believe that the conditions are - - are - - could be set for a much longer slog here in - - inside the Donbas , given both sides ' familiarity with the train , the long range fires that both sides are applying , the - - the - - the artillery action to mechanize - - the - - the - - the propensity to be able to use mechanized maneuvers here in this part - - part of Ukraine . I mean , it could go on for some time . We ' ve described it as a potential knife fight and I think it ' s beginning to shape up to be exactly that . Dan Lamothe Q: Good morning . Thank you . Acknowledging you don ' t know where the Howitzers are once transferred , can you speak more broadly to what the counter - battery fight has looked like thus far , what you ' re seeing , what you ' re hearing And can you drill down a bit at all on what you ' re seeing south of Izyum , in that area , southeast - - southeast and southwest Thanks . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I don ' t have a whole lot on the use of artillery . Again , you know , we - - we don ' t have perfect visibility in every - - in - - in every aspect of the fight but we do see the Russians using artillery to - - to - - as I ' ve said , to - - in advance of the movement of ground forces . But they have not been - - our assessment is they have not been as effective using long range fires against the Ukrainians as they wanted to be . And - - and the Ukrainians also have long range fires of their own , they have artillery , and they ' re - - and they ' re getting now - - they ' ll be getting more American artillery and the trainers to go with it , to use in their defense . So this - - this could become a bit of a gun battle here and - - and certainly the - - the - - the Russians are - - are staying close to doctrine , in terms of how they ' re using artillery in advance of ground movement . But I - - I - - you know , I just don ' t have a blow - by - blow for you . Now - - and things are going on - - on the - - your question about moving to the south out of Izyum - - so again , we - - we sort of - - if you draw - - if - - if you ' re looking at Izyum , if you were to - - the way I ' d sort of look at this , Dan , is - - is draw a line directly south from Izyum , going towards a town called Dobropillya - - they - - they - - they clearly want to make gains going from Izyum down towards Dobropillya - - actually , more to the northwest of that town . That ' s that southwestern movement that we ' ve been talking about . And then - - and then draw the line from Izyum at about , not quite 180 south , but maybe 170 south , a little bit to the east of south , towards Sloviansk , and they - - they keep trying to move on Sloviansk , and I mentioned that earlier . But they have - - they have had trouble advancing . They - - they - - they ' re - - they ' re trying hard . They - - they don ' t want to get ahead of their supply lines . The Ukrainians are pushing back , and so their advance towards the Sloviansk area - - Sloviansk - Kramatorsk , that - - sort of that little - - that little axis right there . They haven ' t made much progress . And then if I - - and then draw another line out of Izyum just a little bit south of east towards a town called Lyman , L - Y - M - A - N , Lyman , which is where they ' re also trying to advance to . But again , they - - they have made - - but - - but - - but plodding progress there . They ' re not - - they ' re not moving very fast . A few kilometers a day is about the most they can handle because they ' re getting pushed back , and because they ' re - - again , they ' re wary of getting out ahead of their supply lines . So that ' s sort of the push out of Izyum , and that ' s really , I mean , there is some push from a town called Kreminna , where we do believe the Russians have possession of that , which is , if you look at Lyman on a map and you look not due - - directly due east , but a little bit to the northeast , you ' ll see this town of Kreminna - - I ' m - - I ' m probably butchering how to pronounce that , and we do believe the Russians are in control of that , and they are - - they - - they want to move from Kreminna west towards Lyman . So Lyman is definitely in - - in their target sites , but again , they haven ' t really been able to get much beyond Kreminna . Again , they ' re - - the Ukrainians are up there . They ' re in that area and they ' re fighting back bravely . And it ' s the best I can do . I mean , I - - I just don ' t have a - - you know , we just don ' t have a fingertip feel for every single scrap on any given day , but - - but that ' s what the map looks like right now . Courtney QUESTION: Hi . Just one on the - - the announcement from the White House yesterday . Have you guys gotten any more clarity that - - on the - - any specifics on the accelerated cyber capabilities against air defense systems You know , we - - I - - I know the secretary talked a little bit about it yesterday , and you mentioned specifically yesterday the - - the S300s . Is there talk about sending THAAD or Patriots or something like that And then , what is accelerated cyber capabilities even mean Thank you . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: We ' re just talking about being able to - - to continue to help Ukraine improve their cyber resilience , and some of those funds will be dedicated to - - to ongoing - - will - - will be additional to ongoing efforts to improve the Ukrainians ' cyber - - cyber defense and resilience capabilities , and I don ' t think we want to get into more than that . And I think the secretary answered the advanced air systems , air defense systems pretty well yesterday . I - - I don ' t want to go beyond what he said yesterday . I think - - I think he captured it pretty well . QUESTION: I guess what I ' m trying to figure out , though , is do you - - do you expect that the U . S . is going to start giving the Ukrainians some U . S . air defense systems , advanced air defense systems SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: There ' s no - - there ' s no active discussion about that right now , other than - - other than , of course , Stingers , short - range air defense . But in the long term - - in the - - in long - range air defense , what we are focused on , as the secretary said , was on helping them get the kinds of systems that they - - that they know how to use effectively and - - and are familiar with , and I don ' t have any indications that - - that right now , we ' re prepared to go beyond that . QUESTION: Okay , thanks . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Jennifer Griffin Jen , you there Yeah , maybe we lost Jen . Heather from USNI QUESTION: Thanks so much . So I know that there ' s no maritime updates in the Black Sea area , but I was wondering if you ' ve seen any accumulation of Russian warships in the Mediterranean that suggest that they might be trying to get war ships into the Black Sea . SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: No , I - - I don ' t think we have any - - any updates in the - - in their Med posture that would - - I ' m looking now at the maritime stuff . We ' re not - - no . We ' re not - - we ' re not seeing anything in their - - in their Med maritime posture that - - that give us immediate concern that they ' re putting more in the Black Sea , no . Jack Detsch QUESTION: Sor
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