RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Dozens of uniformed officials looked to the head table Thursday morning at the dimly lit officer’s club here. They were staring at Lloyd Austin, America’s secretary of defense, the man who brought them all together. But as the day began, the focus was less on Austin than what it means for him to depart.

Even as Russia seems to have the upper hand in its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin faces a growing number of challenges that will complicate any effort to lock in its gains, the outgoing Pentagon chief said.

Russia does not have all the advantages in the war against Ukraine as it seems. The Kremlin is facing an increasing number of challenges that will make it difficult to record its successes, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin says.

The Biden administration is providing an additional $500 million package in weapons and equipment to Ukraine from its existing military stockpiles, looking to further reinforce Kyiv’s

The U.S. is set to provide Ukraine an additional $500 million in weapons quickly pulled from its existing stockpiles as the Biden administration works to get Kyiv in a stronger negotiating position before President-elect Donald Trump takes office,