What Happens in Ukraine 'Matters to the World', Pentagon Chief Says

Washington D.C./15.03.23/Turan:     The United States will continue conducting surveillance flights worldwide after an American drone was hit by a Russian warplane over the Black Sea, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The incident, the first direct collision between U.S. and Russian weapons since the war in Ukraine began, set off a diplomatic row as the Pentagon leaders on Wednesday spoke with their Russian counterparts.

"Now I just got off the phone with my Russian counterpart, Minister Shoigu. And as I've said repeatedly, it's important that great powers be models of transparency and communication,"  Austin said as he also on the same day hosted a virtual meeting of nations supporting Ukraine against Russia.

"Ukraine matters," Austin told a news conference. "It matters not to just Ukraine or to the United States, it matters to the world"

He went on to add, "This is about the rules based international order. It's about one country's ability to wake up one day and change the borders of its neighbor and annex its neighbor's sovereign territory."

Countries around the world realize how serious this challenge to the status quo is, and they are working together.  "And they continue to work hard to ensure that Ukraine gets everything that it needs to be successful. And that'll remain our focus going forward," Austin said.

Alex Raufoglu