2025. >> democracy. it is not just an idea. it's a process, a process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and trusted to a select few regarding its basic principles. it's where debates are held, decisions are made. democracy in real-time. this is your government at work. this is c-span, giving you your democracy unfiltered. >> coming up, defense secretary general lloyd austin talks to reporters about support for ukraine in a meeting with defense officials with allied nations, supporting ukraine dozens work against russia. he also spoke about efforts to help contain the los angeles wildfires.

>> good afternoon. thank you for being here today. it is my pleasure to introduce secretary of defense lloyd j. austin iii. the secretary will deliver opening remarks, and then we'll have time to take a few questions. please note that i will moderate those questions and call on journalists. secretary austin, over to you, sir. and i know that all americans are thinking today of president jimmy carter. on this national day of mourning. he was the great some of my home state of georgia, a man of deep faith and a tireless champion of democracy and human rights. and i hope president carter's legacy will continue to inspire

people around the world to find their own ways to serve. now all americans are also watching the terrifying wildfires that are ripping through parts of southern california. the department will continue to stand ready to two surge support as needed. that includes federal air assets that california can request to help fight the fire from the sky. and many u.s. military installations are in the area and they have personnel and equipment that can also be used to fight this blaze. please stand with the people of california in this time. now we have just wrapped up the 25th meeting of the ukraine

defense contract group and the course that was my final time convening this contact group as secretary of defense. i ended our session by challenging this history making coalition to continue to support ukraine so i would like to say a few words about that challenge but i also want to take a few minutes to reflect on how far we have come. you know, throughout the day i have been thinking back to our very first meeting here at rams sign. we gathered on april 26, 2022 nearly a thousand days ago. the world was reeling from the shock of putin's imperial aggression. the kremlin had invaded the second largest country in europe

with the largest military in europe. russian troops had just massacred ukrainian civilians in bucha. many pundits said ukraine was doomed. president biden saw way forward paid by ukrainian courage and allied commitment. i came to ramstein after secret visit with secretary blinken. we were in kyiv during orthodox easter and ukrainian citizens were huddled in churches to pray to ukrainian leaders huddled in bunkers. i heard directly from ukraine's most senior leaders what they needed most from president zelensky on down. in the days after putin's

all-out invasion many countries were flooding ukraine with donations of ammo and other capabilities. but i knew that if ukraine was to survive we needed to coordinate that security assistance. and we needed to do so in a way that met the evolving nature of the fight so i convened nations of goodwill right here at ramstein and i carried with me the urgency that i heard in kyiv just hours earlier. so i opened our hastily arranged first meeting by urging some 40 countries to build a common understanding of the situation in ukraine.

and today this contact group provides more of that common understanding. it provides a common cause and today some 50 countries are coordinating closely with ukraine to send vital consistent and cutting-edge security assistance. and that has helped ukraine turn ukraine's struggle and to one of the great military success stories of our time. ukrainian military has shown breathtaking courage and the ukrainian people have shown magnificent appliance. ukraine's cause has inspired free people everywhere including in my country and back in the desperate days in february of

2022 ukrainian citizens were making molotov cocktails to defend their homes. but today with the help of this contact group ukraine has a battle tested military and booming defense industrial base. we are meeting the most urgent needs of the cranes troops even as we are building ukraine's future force and over the past three years we have helped coordinate striking improvements to ukraine's capabilities all while managing our own readiness. we know that no single capability will turn the tide so we have always stayed focused on what works and on the combined effects of ukraine's capabilities. ukraine has started to fly

fourth-generation fighter jets. it now fields advanced western air defense capabilities. and it produces and operates state-of-the-art unmanned systems. all of this position's ukraine to defeat russian aggression today and to deter russian aggression tomorrow. and so our work has changed the course of history. now i am deeply proud of the assistance that the united states has provided to ukraine and president biden's support for ukraine is never flag and ukraine has also had strong bipartisan support in congress. since february of 2022 we have stayed laser focused on providing ukraine's defenders with the capabilities that they have needed at each stage of the

fight. first artillery and rockets have been fundamental to this war. since 2022 the united states has provided ukraine with more than 2 million artillery round in more than 20,000 rockets all while maintaining the readiness of our own forces. second, we relentlessly pushed to provide ukraine with air defense systems and missiles to defend the skies it cities and civilians. third, the department is working to support ukraine's industry and forth resurge other capable capabilities to ukraine including ground combat vehicles, javelins and much much

more. time and again we have seen the huge significance of these combined capabilities. in fact many of these lower key capabilities have had a far greater battlefield impact than some higher profile systems but we have also helped to provide. including f-16s and ibrance thanks. in a war like this no single capability is game-changing. as i said in kyiv in october what matters is the effects of your military capabilities and staying focused on what works even as the site evolves. ukraine crisis expose some shortcomings in our defense industrial base. he still got a lot more work to

do. but we have galvanized our own defense industry, investing nearly $70 billion at home to produce capabilities for ukraine and replenish our own stocks. so we still face major challenges ahead but as the founder of this contact group i am very proud of the way that our allies and partners have stepped up. since april of 2022 the contact group's other members have committed more than $60 billion in direct security assistance to ukraine. ukraine's meet on the battlefield have evolved over the past 2.5 years and so have the contributions of the coalition. denmark, finland, germany, the netherlands norway poland sweden

and have joined to provide ukraine with more. germany has developed and led its immediate action on air defense initiatives which has spurred partners to pledge more than a billion dollars to support ukraine's air defenses. the czech republic has led a dozen countries and surging critical munitions for the chuck initiative which coordinated the delivery of hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition in the last year canada denmark france romania uk in the usa have found creative ways to train and ukrainian troops.

ukraine's partners have provided broad and sustained support from patriot and hot air defense systems to thousands of armored vehicles. so all told contact group members have committed more than $126 billion in security assistance to ukraine. they have expanded production capacity in factories around the world and they have raced in sustainment capabilities to keep ukraine's equipment in the fight. so this coalition has become the arsenal of ukrainian democracy. it has become an engine of global security and this contact group has become the most

consequential global coalition in more than 30 years. the contact group's mission is now driven by its capability coalitions with support from the national armaments directors. and today 14 countries and ukraine lead these important coalitions. they focus on ukraine's air force, armor, artillery, the mining, drones information technology, integrated air and missile defense in maritime security. and today the ministers of defense here endorsed each of these coalitions roadmaps for ukraine's future force. now each roadmap lays out an efficient and sustainable

approach to helping meet ukraine's long-term and near-term capabilities. and that's how this contact group has so much progress. by working together for our shared security interests and by standing together for her sheer principals. in the battlefield results have been playing. since 2022 russia has suffered more than 700,000 casualties in ukraine. that's more than moscow has endured in conflict since world war ii. combined. russian casualties in ukraine now surpassed two-thirds of the total strength of the russian

military at the start of putin's war. in november of 2024 alone russia lost nearly 1500 troops a day. you know, volunteers cannot make up for the stunning losses. so the kremlin has been reduced to scouring rushes jails and coursing contracts soldiers. moscow has even rushed troops from north korea into a war that they don't belong in. that is another clear sign of putin's desperation. north forces have suffered more than a thousand casualties since they enlisted last december in putin's war and course there

other estimates that are far north of that. meanwhile the economic cost to ordinary rations from putin's imperial fantasies has also been staggering. the kremlin plans to stand 40% of russia's 2025 budget to keep up with the contract group support to ukraine. now that's a 25% increase from last year. meanwhile the russian ruble has continued to plummet. the kremlin has become more isolated and rushes global stature as a strategic position has continued to. so russia has paid an price for this indefensible war. yet putin has not achieved a

single one of his strategic objectives, not one. in fact putin was so bogged down in ukraine that when the assad dictatorship in syria collapsed after more than 50 years, all he could do was watch. russian troops had to race to haul equipment and personnel out of syria which had once been the centerpiece of the kremlin's global ambitions. putin's failure to save the assad regime is a stark warning of the few remaining countries that might align themselves with them. now i am deeply mindful of the anguish that putin has inflicted on ukraine. for ukraine these have been

years of tragedy, of entirely unnecessary agony caused by one man's imperial greed. in my final hours at ramstein as secretary of defense i mourn for every ukrainian man, woman and child killed in putin's murderous war. and i salute the ukrainian troops who are fighting so bravely for their country and for their freedom. and this coalition has had their backs for nearly three hard years of war and we must not stop now. so i'm leaving this contact group met with the farewell but with the challenge. the coalition to support ukraine must not flinch.

it must not falter in the must not fail. ukraine's survival is on the line but so is all of our security. putin wants to avenge a fallen empire and to rebuild it. the kremlin's assault starts with ukraine but it will not end there and the dangers are global. putin wants the world where empire sovereignty from a world where conquest trump's human rights a world where tyranny bulldozes democracy. every autocrat on earth is watching to see whether putin gets away with it. and so this coalition must

continue to stand foursquare with ukraine and to strengthen ukraine's hand for the negotiations that will someday bring putin's mantra's war to a close. that road is challenging but all the alternatives are far worse. no responsible leader would let putin have his way. if i have said peace is not self-executing. order does not preserve itself and security does not expand on its own. and so we must stand up for our security. we must hold firm to the bedrock principle that aggression is a

and we must never lose our nerve. so let me again urge countries of conscious from around the world to help ukraine succeed and to ensure putin does not prevail. to my breathe the creamy and teammates and to my friends who have already given and sacrificed far too much let me urge you to stay in the fight. we have come so far over the past 25 years, the past 25 meetings of this contact group. and the structure of this coalition is built to succeed, built to adapt and built to last. three years of the founding of this contact group i said here

at ramstein at this coalition reflects a galvanized world. it still does. i called putin's war baseless, reckless and. it still is. and i called the kremlin's onslaught a challenge to free people everywhere. it still lives. i will always be proud that the ukraine defense contact group has held high the torch of security and freedom. so i will keep saying it. free people must refuse --

thanks again for being here and with that will i will be happy to take some questions. thank you mr. secretary for their first question from the press. mr. secretary about to start with the wildfires and given the scope in the destruction that's going on in california. why haven't more troops and aircraft vincent? says that because california hasn't asked and if they do ask how quickly could you send additional assets there and then secondly on greenland do you think president-elect trump is serious about taking greenland from nato ally denmark and how destructive are these remarks to the nato alliance and for my last and third question for you, has the incoming administration reached out to you at all about continuing ukrainian contact

group and it's not how concerned are you that this might be the last meeting of this group? >> it's terra isn't it? first of all the u.s. military stands ready to assist in any way that we possibly can to help the people of california. as you know california has a lot of capability of its own but these are. a significant buyers and while no or few requests have been made thus far we stand ready to surge capability as quickly as possible. i've done some things to cause her troops to get into a three-point stance to make sure if the whistle we are ready to

move-in and provide assistance. >> has that finish line not been requested? >> we are providing some modular firefighting systems and when we are able to supply that system but we have a lot of our capacity and capability that can be requested so we will make sure we remain closely linked to director of fema and the leadership in california to ensure that if they have a need and we are ready to respond. in terms of the contact group your question is whether or not the next administration will decide to continue this effort. that is a decision that for the next administration to make and i won't speculate on which

direction they would go in but what i will tell you is that this is important to not only ukraine but to the united states of america into europe and to the entire world. and as you know we have seen bipartisan support in congress and i think again it's up to the future administration to make their own decisions and we want to make sure we have done everything we can to ensure we are continuing to support that they have the options to go in whichever direction they want to and i will also tell you that i heard from my colleagues here in stereo a number of times that they really believe that this is

important and they really believe that this pro forma has served us well so we will see what happens but it's not the only format that can work obviously but they believe that this is important. >> and on greenland do you think trump is serious about taking greenland? >> i would defer that question to the president-elect to speculate on whether he is serious or not. >> how destructive is that to the alliance? >> her next question -- our next question. >> one last question in the 25 ukraine meetings would more help have been possible in two donations allow themselves to be too intimidated by putin's aggression you just heard me say

that russia has experienced 700,000 casualties in the war is not over. they will take continued to experience more casualties going forward. they have lost a lot of equipment and putin is isolated. he doesn't have the ability to project combat power as in the past and we saw that with syria. i think i would challenge as to whether or not ukraine is falling short but i think russia is falling short. those numbers of casualties without accomplishing a single strategic objective is unthinkable, unthinkable so i

think this format in our ability to rush urgently needed security assistance into ukraine has been quite remarkable. we have done that at the speed and volumes that have not been seen in the past. so i really applaud the work that the team has done together but there is more to be done and we clearly recognize that and we will continue to do everything we can to help ukraine regardless. >> her next question goes to carla >> hi mr. secretary and thanks much for doing this. doing this. she meant in a remarkable nature of the past pastors i want to focus on what happened today and are the roadmaps made for ukraine by capability and coalition that or will it simply keep them in the fight and since you mentioned the fall of assad russia's recent loss in syria

has that affected russia's ability to support its military presence in africa and the middle east and then finally the justice department has acted on the half of the pentagon in her final days of office to enforce plea deals in the 9/11 cases. why is it so important to you and his differing justice to families have been waiting for more than 20 years in limbo potentially denying them just as? >> tell me what your first question was again? the capability coalitions commitment and is it enough to give ukraine upperhand or will it keep them in sight? >> coalitions are doing tremendous work to build the future force for ukraine even as countries continue to support ukraine in the current fight in an incredible way. so as we look at what the

capability coalitions are doing and when things come into play in when they become available in terms of capability it is quite impressive and what i've seen from countries who are part of these capability coalitions is that they are absolutely committed to working hard to restore the capability and make sure it comes to life in an expedient time, matter of time. so i'm optimistic about what we are doing with the capability coalitions. i do believe that it will provide the means to continue to modernize ukraine's military, which will help it accomplish other things in the future and if you think back and where we were when this fight started it was a military based on soviet

equipment and used a lot of soviet dr. in and we are a long way we are way for -- where we were then. the final question out of the eight questions that you had carla was regarding the guantánamo bay recent decision. i have stated where i am on this and i haven't changed. and so we are in the process of appealing that ruling and since we are appealing it, i don't have any comments to make on the issue. >> on post assad russia have you seen the loss of the bases in syria and affecting its ability

to conduct military operations in africa and the middle east >> i think that based upon the fact that russia used its capabilities and its bases in syria to project combat power into africa i think that we will see an effect and we will see if it affects their ability to place capability into africa as they have been in the past and sustain that capability. i think you will have an effect. >> the final question. >> mr. secretary today's donald trump will be president and will the united states remain a reliable partner for nadal and what to expect from your successor as secretary? sank you. >> the united states of america has always been a reliable

partner. we will always be a reliable partner in the future just like any other country. we have an administration change and some policies change from time to time. our values don't change in our commitment to allies and partners doesn't change either. so in terms of what i would expect that's irrelevant. the question is what does his boss expect from him and i have had a great boss and i've had the ability to engage frequently and been given the latitude to accomplish what needs to be accomplished in so it's been a great experience for me and i would hope that any future secretary of defense would enjoy that same kind of relationship. if you don't have that relationship it's a very

difficult job to do. again i've been blessed to work with, to be able to work with an incredible team in dod would also in a cabinet especially the members of the national security council. it's all been very positive experience. that's a great thing because if you look at the challenges that we have been faced with we have had to manage multiple significant challenges simultaneously. we were able to do that because we had a very solid national security strategy. my boss continued to resource us in a way that allowed us to execute that strategy and so it's been a pretty good experience for me and i have thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity. i think if you look at where we are right now, our adversaries

are weaker, our relationships with our allies and partners are stronger. the economy is as strong as it's been in a long time so i i think we are in pretty good shape. patrick i think that's the last question. >> thank you mr. secretary. that was the last russian and this concludes our press briefing ladies and dogham. thank you very much. >> thanks everybody. [inaudible >> witness democracy unfiltered with c-span. experience in history as it unfolds with these bands live coverage this month as republicans take control of both chambers of congress and a new chapter begins with the swearing

in of the 44th president of united states. on monday, generally 20th, 24 hour live all day coverage of the inauguration, as donald trump takes the oath of office, becoming president of the united states. stay with us for coverage of the 119th congress and the presidential inauguration. c-span, democracy unfiltered. ♪ >> sharon mcmahon, host of the "here's where it gets interesting" podcast and author of "the small and the mighty" is our guest on c-span's "q&a." she discusses retail pioneers including richard sears, former slave and philanthropist clara brown, and others. sharon: you ask people, who's the best person you know. almost never will they say jeff bezos, right?

almost never will they say some tv star. they will almost always say somebody who has impacted them. it is a really, really important way. if you are not rich, they don't have a name on the side of a building, there are thousands of americans who have shaped the course of history, who have changed who the united states has become through their actions, but for a variety of reasons, their stories have not been recorded in those bold-face fonts in the history text books. >> sharon mcmahon with her book "the small and the mighty" on c-span's "q&a." you can listen to this and all of our podcasts on the free c-span now app. >> c-span, democracy unfiltered. we are funded by these

television companies and more, including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? no, it is way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers to create wi-fi enabled places, so students from low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. >> comcast supports c-span as a community service as well as these other providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> next, a look back at the 118th congress. congressional reporters and researchers reflected on the unprecedented speaker elections, efforts to move judges through the senate, bipartisan legislation, and the impact of cable news and social media. the american enterprise institute hosted this event. philip: all right. i will gavel us in here this morning.