DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: Hello to our small group. Happy holidays, everyone. I hope everyone had some time off with friends and family. I think we can keep this pretty short. I just want to take any questions and then just a few things at the top. So today we announced significant new security assistance for Ukraine, reaffirming our unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression.
This includes a $1.25 billion Presidential Drawdown Authority package and an additional $1.22 billion through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Together, these packages deliver critical capabilities such as air defense systems, munitions for artillery and rocket systems, anti-tank weapons, unmanned aerial systems and more.
This marks the administration’s 73rd drawdown package and 23rd USAI package since August 2021, reflecting our continued efforts with our over 50 allies and partners through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group to ensure Ukraine has what it needs to be successful on the battlefield and to defend its sovereignty.
Lastly, the secretary along with the entire Department of Defense mourn the loss of former President Jimmy Carter at age 100, a principal leader of America’s longest lived president and a great son of Georgia, US naval officer and steadfast champion of human rights and democratic ideals. And with that, I’m happy to take your questions.
I don’t see AP. All right.
Q: Just on Syria.
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Sure.
Q: Is the US military still carrying out those partnered operations or whatever they were called with the SDF since the overthrow of Assad, or have you paused those?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: There’s been no change to our partnership with the SDF. In terms of partnered raids, I’d refer you to CENTCOM to speak to when the most recent one was. I just don’t have that. But as you know, we have been conducting various strikes against ISIS leaders, but in terms of our partnership with SDF, nothing has changed there.
Q: Have you seen the SDF move folks who were protecting the prisons to focus on some other parts?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: In terms of in that eastern part, in Syria?
Q: Yeah.
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: I don’t have any changes that I’m aware of but refer you to the SDF to speak more to that. Haley.
Q: Thanks. Can you give us an update on transition meetings, like how many of those have happened? Are they here? Have they been here frequently, a couple times, every day, like, just kind of with what regularity those are happening?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: There have been pretty regular transition meetings. Obviously, with the holidays, there haven’t been those during the Christmas holidays, but I think as recently as this Friday, there were meetings. We’re continuing to schedule those as needed, continuing to–we’re committed to an orderly smooth transition.
I don’t have the exact number of meetings that there have been, but I think every department has met with the transition team at this point.
Q: And to your knowledge that other memorandum, the MOU hasn’t been signed yet still, right, the GSA?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: That one, I would refer you to the Trump transition team to speak to that, but to my knowledge, that’s the one that’s outstanding. Yeah. Sure.
Q: Do you have any update North Korea troops in Russia, how many casualties, something like that?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: In terms of uh North Koreans in in Russia, you probably heard that the white House recently announced that approximately 1,000 DPRK soldiers have either been killed or wounded in the Kursk region. That’s our assessment as well. What we’re seeing right now is that the assaults that the DPRK soldiers are launching within that Kursk region are proving to be that effective.
I mean, they’re taking on significant amount of casualties. I don’t want to get into a commitment that we’re going to read out numbers every time we have something um to share. But our estimate is that it’s approximately 1,000 casualties that they’ve taken on.
Q: Any indication that North Korea sent more troops?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: At this time, I think what we said is that they’ve committed approximately 12,000 troops, certainly a deepening of an alliance there between Russia and North Korea. Can’t say that we’re seeing more being sent, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t send more in the future. But I can only share with you what we know right now, and that’s what we’ve said publicly. Yeah, Constantine.
Q: Thanks, Sabrina. Any update on the Navy downing its own F/A-18? Are you able to offer any new details on that?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: I don’t have any new details to offer on that. As you know, it’s under investigation and that’s continuing on. So nothing new right now.
Q: OK. Thank you.
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yeah.
Q: Sabrina, any general assessment of the situation in northeast Syria?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Can you be more specific?
Q: While we have clashes in between our partners and the other militias pro-turkey, we have sometimes some clashes in between the Turks and the SDF themselves. I believe we increased the number of our soldiers also in the area. I want to understand how you see the situation northeast?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: I’m not tracking any increase in US personnel outside of what we already have in Syria. That being said, I mean there is a ceasefire that is still holding in the northern part of Syria. And we’re going to continue to monitor that, but we’re still focused on the mission that’s in Syria, which is to ensure the defeat of ISIS. And to Haley’s question, that is ongoing with, or sorry, to Idris’s question, that is ongoing with our SDF partners.
Q: Are we discussing with the Turks the role of the SDF in northeast Syria?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: I’m not going to go beyond the readout that we put out from the secretary’s call with his counterpart of Turkey, only to say that we’re going to continue to engage, and the ceasefire is holding in that northern part of Syria. I saw another hand.
Q: Yes, I have two questions.
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yeah.
Q: On a related point, the HTS led government has said that all arms need to come under central government or Damascus control, and they’ve even set deadlines. Could you just talk a little bit about what the US government position is about the SDF sort of equity in that statement, like whether or not they should surrender their arms, whether or not they should demobilize and become part of a central government force? And then I have another question.
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Sure. So I think you saw right before the holiday, we had folks from the State Department and others in Syria, engaging HTS leadership there. I don’t have more to provide beyond those conversations. In terms of SDF, and the role within the new Syrian government, I think what the new Syrian government looks like, there’s a lot that remains to be seen.
And it’s still, even though I think it’s probably been about a month now since the fall of Assad or around there, we’re still in the new phases, so I just don’t want to get ahead of that process just yet. And then you had a second question.
Q: My second question was, and forgive me if I missed this, has the Defense Department appealed the decision regarding the plea deal for the 9/11 people. Has that happened? I know that there was an intent to appeal, but did the actual appeal happen. Because the–
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Sorry, just because there’s been so many back and forths on the legal process of that.
Q: There’s supposed to be hearings in January that were scheduled before the intent to appeal was announced and they’re still scheduled as far as I know. So I just wondered whether or not there actually has been an appeal?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Let me take that question in terms of if an official appeal has actually been made.
Q: Thank you.
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yeah.
Q: We don’t have a new SecDef yet, but once we do, do you know if Secretary Austin intends to brief the new SecDef on what he sees as the value of the Ukraine contact group and how he thinks it’s been a success?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: If there’s a requested conversation, but I think there are many people within this department who will continue on in their career civilian roles and of course military roles as well, that have supported and understand the importance of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. I can only speak on behalf of this administration and the secretary and that the UDCG continues to be a convening forum to work with allies and partners and providing Ukraine with what it needs and working together as multiple countries literally come around the table.
What the incoming administration intends to do with the UDCG, I’m just not going to be able to speak for it. But should you know the incoming secretary request a conversation, I’m sure there will be one. Did I see one more and then? No? OK. Constantine, and then we can wrap up for the shortest gaggle before the end of the year.
Q: Just to round it out.
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Sure.
Q: Last week there were images and reports of a new fighter jet from China. Is the Pentagon tracking these reports and do you have a comment?
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: I saw those reports. I don’t have anything for you on that right now. All right. Thanks, everyone.
