Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin confronted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with a series of questions about U.S. strategy vis-a-vis Ukraine.

Griffin interviewed Austin following the defense secretary’s trip to Kyiv alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The two met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Austin drew attention afterwards when he described America’s goals by saying, “We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.”

Speaking with Austin in Germany, Griffin asked, “Why not say ‘defeat Russia?’ Are you expecting Russia to pull back to the pre-February 24th line or the pre-2014 line?”

“To be clear, we’re not in a fight with Russia. Ukraine is in a current struggle with Russia,” Austin said. “And what Ukraine desperately wants is to make sure it can protect its sovereign territory. We want to make sure that we’re helping Ukraine do that.”

The interview continued with Griffin asking Austin about Russia’s warning against the U.S. sending weapons to Ukraine, even as he attends an international conference about providing further assistance to the country. As Austin spoke of the weapons being given and whether they might have deterred Vladimir Putin if Ukraine had them already, Griffin turned to the conference and asked “are you worried this might turn into a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia? Is this turning into a proxy war?”

“It’s not,” Austin responded. “This is clearly Ukraine’s fight and Ukraine’s neighbors and allies and partners are stepping up to make sure that they have what they need in order to be successful”

Watch above, via Fox News.

The post Fox News’ Jen Griffin Presses Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin on Supporting Ukraine from Russian Attacks: ‘Is This Turning Into a Proxy War?’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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