US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has criticized the imperialist ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The invasion of Russia is what happens when the great powers decide that their imperial appetites are more important than the rights of their peaceful neighbors," he wrote on Twitter.

"And it is a preliminary view of a possible world of chaos and unrest in which none of us would like to live," the minister said.

The Secretary of Defense is currently in Brussels, where he is hosting a meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contract Group before attending a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Wednesday and Thursday.

Otherwise, Austin had stated that China is carrying out a "provocative and destabilizing" military activity near Taiwan.

. @ SecDef: Russia invasion is what happens when big powers decide that their imperial appetites matter more than the rights of their peaceful neighbors.

And it's a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in.

pic.twitter.com/1ynLwaEgLB

- Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) June 14, 2022