Picture : Twitter / ANI
In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has approved an 800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery.
As per AP report, The Ukrainians also will receive armored personnel carriers, armored Humvees, naval drone vessels used in coastal defense, and gear and equipment used to protect soldiers in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological attacks.
This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine, Biden said in a statement.
The steady supply of weapons the United States and its allies and partners have provided to Ukraine has been critical in sustaining its fight against the Russian invasion, Biden added. It has helped ensure that (Russia President Vladimir) Putin failed in his initial war aims to conquer and control Ukraine. We cannot rest now.
Biden announced the aid after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is the latest in a series of U.S. security assistance packages valued at a combined 2.6 billion that has been committed to Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. The weaponry and support material has played an important role in Ukraine’s successful defense thus far.
Biden is under pressure from members of both parties in Congress to expand and accelerate U.S. aid.
Robert Gates, a former CIA director and defense secretary, said Wednesday he believes the administration needs to push hard for weapon donations by NATO members in Eastern Europe, whose arsenals include Soviet-era tanks and other weaponry and equipment that could help Ukraine immediately.
The United States ought to be acting, 24/7 how do we mobilize the equipment and how do we get it into Ukraine and into the hands of the Ukrainians, Gates said in an online forum sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
