US President Joe Biden declares a new $125 million military assistance to Ukraine. In his call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden restated the US commitment to Ukraine amidst on-going war with Russia.
The president’s call came ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations.
In a statement released throughout the day, Biden described ANI as citing Ukraine’s strongness and the perpetual support from America in continuation of the war despite its beginning and continuation and confirmed that Russia had begun a conflict there.
“Ukraine was free before the stupid war of Russia; it is still free today, and it will remain so once the fighting is over. The question I discussed with President Zelensky is how to make this message more clear,” said Biden.
“I spoke with President Zelenskyy today to reaffirm this message, and to express America’s unwavering support for the people of Ukraine,” said Biden.
Moreover, over 400 organizations and individuals were sanctioned by US which it believes assist Russia in maintaining its war effort, evading sanctions or supporting her wars according to US claims.
Lloyd Austin, US defense secretary revealed these details. It consists of anti-drone equipment, air-defense missiles, ammunition for anti-armour missiles . According to Reuters ,Zelenskyy stressed the importance of such weapons especially air defense systems in safeguarding cities ,communities and critical infrastructure .
“For cities, communities and critical infrastructure reliable protection requiring extra air defence systems from announced packages” – stated Zelenskyy.
Since full-scale invasion by Russia commenced February 2022 ,the United States has provided line $50 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader thanked President Biden as well as all Americans
“I talked to @POTUS Joe Biden after he sent me warm congratulations on our National Flag Day in Ukraine yesterday & upcoming Independence Day.I am grateful to Pres.Biden,his administration,Congress,& all the American nation for their unwavering support since the first days of the full-scale war. It allows us to survive and protect our statehood,” he said.
“I also thanked the United States for approving another round of sanctions today, this time targeting Russia’s fuel and energy sectors, metallurgy, finance, and military-industrial complex. I emphasised the need for continued sanctions pressure on Russia. I welcomed the new US military aid package and emphasised that Ukraine urgently requires the delivery of weapons from the announced packages, particularly additional air defence systems, to reliably protect our cities, communities, and critical infrastructure,” Zelenskyy added.
Furthermore ,the US department of defense has provided more details on this aid package which was marked as Biden Administration’s 64th Tranche of equipment given to Ukraine as from August 2021.The aid includes Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) equipment and munitions ,155mm &105mm artillery ammunition as well as High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) ambulances.
“This Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package with an estimated value of USD 125 million will provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs including air defence capabilities; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; anti-tank weapons”- said US department of defense.
