Thread by @jseldin

NEW: "We've made good progress" @SecDef Lloyd Austin says following #Ukraine Defense Contact Group mtg in #Brussels

"#Russia's atrocities have further united the nations of goodwill..."

#HIMARS "have changed the dynamic of the war the #Putin started" per @SecDef, saying allies will continue to rush in equipment & supplies to #Ukraine

"We will do even more to train #Ukrainian forces" per @SecDef

He adds contact group nations also working to fire up production of their defense industrial bases to meet ongoing needs

#Ukraine contact group - "I am confident this group will stay together for as long as it takes" per @thejointstaff Chair Gen Mark Milley

Says #Ukraine's fight is in the world's best interest

Goal of US, contact group is "...to ensure that #Ukraine remains a free, independent & sovereign nation" per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley

"#Russia is paying an extremely high cost" for its "war of choice" in #Ukraine, per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley

"The Russian ppl begin to suffer..."

"#Russia has deliberately stuck civilian infrastructure" in #Ukraine, per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley

Milley warns indiscriminate attacks against civilians is a war crime

US says winter unlikely to slow down #Ukraine - "We've seen them be very effective both in the east and down in the south" per @SecDef, saying contact group will do all it can to make sure Ukrainian troops have what they need

#NASAMS have yet to arrive but additional countries told the contact group they are willing to provide munitions for the systems, per @SecDef

"#Putin's saber rattling is reckless, #nuclear saber rattling is reckless & irresponsible" per @SecDef

"We take this very seriously" he says, noting the US has not yet seen any indicators at this point to suggest Putin has decided to, in fact, use nuclear weapons

#Ukraine air defense has been effective in denying #Russia air superiority, but does need help replenishing its systems, per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley

Mentions many of the contact group countries have viable systems & task is to get them to #Kyiv & get the Ukrainians trained

"The systems will be provided as fast as we can physically get them there" per @SecDef, asked again about air defense for #Ukraine

Today's meeting of the #Ukraine contact group "underscores the resolve of the int'l community to support #Ukraine's self-defense" per @SecDef

"That resolve has only been heightened by the deliberate cruelty of Russia's new barrage against Ukraine's cities"

"Those assaults on targets with no military purpose again reveal the malice of #Putin's war of choice" per @SecDef

"Russia's atrocities have further united the nations of goodwill that stand with Ukraine"

"We know that #Ukraine still needs even more long range fires air defense systems & artillery systems, along with other crucial capabilities" per @SecDef

"This fight is not just in #Ukraine's interest. It is in the global interest to protect...the rules based international order" per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley

"This war is a war of choice, a war of choice by #Russia & Russia is paying an extremely high cost, the high cost in human life & casualties & weapons, material & in their economy" per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley

"#Russia has deliberately struck civilian infrastructure w/the purpose of harming civilians" per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley "They have targeted the elderly, the women & the children of Ukraine'

Discussions in #Brussels "We focused on air defense, on cannon artillery, rocket artillery, maneuver tanks infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, also discussed training in a wide variety of non-lethal support" per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley