Biden announces fresh $800 million military package for Ukraine
The United States is still trying to bolster the Ukrainian military in the face of Russia, with the country giving Kiev more than $3.2 billion in military assistance.
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President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Washington DC, United States (AP)
The United States will be sending another $800 million in arms to Kiev in a fresh package of arms supplies, President Joe Biden announced Thursday, saying it was to help the Ukrainian forces in the fight against their Russian counterparts in Donbass.
The newest round of US arms sent to Ukraine will include heavy artillery, dozens of howitzers, 144,000 rounds of ammunition for them, and tactical UAVs.
"We're in a critical window now of time where that they're going to set the stage for the next phase of this war. And the United States and our allies and partners are moving as fast as possible to continue to provide Ukraine ... the weapons their forces need to defend their nation," Biden claimed.
Following his announcement of yet another whopping figure worth of arms, Biden announced that the US was banning Russia-affiliated ships from its ports as the US Treasury allocated $500 million for the Ukrainian government to pay the salaries and pensions of its employees.
Today, I am announcing another $800 million to further augment Ukraine’s ability to fight in the East.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 21, 2022
This package will include heavy artillery weapons, dozens of howitzers, and 144,000 rounds of ammunition to go with them. It also includes more tactical drones.
Unity between the US and its allies in support of Kiev was "sending an unmistakable message" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"He will never succeed in dominating and occupying all of Ukraine. That will not happen," Biden attested.
At the same time, the US President stressed that Washington's aid to Ukraine was not slowing down any time soon, with the democrat announcing that he was preparing to ask Congress to allocate more funds for Kiev while calling on his country's allies to continue supporting Ukraine.
"We have the capacity to do this for a long time. The question is: are we going to maintain the support of the international community to keep the pressure on Putin" and keep enforcing tough sanctions on Russia?
This is the third package worth $800 million that Biden has given Ukraine, which makes for a total of $2.4 billion in the past month alone, and a total of $3.2 billion since Biden took office, according to figures provided by the White House.
Since the start of the war, the United States has deployed more than 100,000 of its troops to NATO member states, and the European Union also chipped in, sending $500 million worth of arms and equipment to Kiev.
The United Kingdom, before the US, was the latest Western country that announced sending more arms to Ukraine, namely Starstreak missiles, in a package worth some £150 million ($195 million).
The United States is still sending arms to Ukraine despite the Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, warning that the influx of Western arms to the conflict zone in Ukraine was adding fuel to the fire.
