“If Ukraine falls, I really believe that NATO will be in a fight with Russia,” Austin said during a House hearing on Thursday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned on Thursday that NATO will be drawn into war if Ukraine is defeated by invading Russian forces.
Speaking at a Republican-led House Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss his recent absence while hospitalized for complications from prostate cancer surgery, Austin predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not “stop” if Moscow wins the war in Ukraine.
Austin made the remarks after being asked about Congress failing to approve a $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine, as requested by President Joe Biden. Despite significant bipartisan support for Ukraine aid, the measure has stalled amid a series of partisan disputes over border security and other issues.
“We know that if Putin is successful here, he will not stop,” Austin said. “He will continue to take more aggressive action in the region. And other leaders around the world, other autocrats, will look at this and they’ll be encouraged by the fact that this happened and we failed to support a democracy.”
Austin later said that the Baltic nations—Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia—were especially vulnerable to the future expansionist ambitions of Putin.
