A New $300 Million Military Aid Package For Ukraine By Biden
A fresh $300 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes more drone munitions and a variety of other weapons has been approved by President Joe Biden. It occurs at a time when unmanned aircraft have targeted Moscow and Russia has proceeded to batter the capital of Ukraine.
According to American authorities, there is no evidence that drones or other weapons developed in the US were used in the Moscow attacks, which the Kremlin attributed to Ukraine but which Kyiv has refused to recognise. According to the Biden administration, it has made it plain to Ukraine that US-produced weaponry should not be utilised in strikes on Russian soil.
“We don’t tell them where to strike. We don’t tell them where not to strike. … Ultimately President Zelenskyy and his military commanders decide what they’re going to do from a military perspective,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday. But he added that the U.S. has been “”very clear with the Ukrainians privately, we’ve certainly been clear publicly, that we do not support attacks inside Russia.”
He said Zelenskyy has given the U.S. assurances that the Ukrainians respect those concerns.
In order to counter Russian airstrikes on Kiev, the new aid package contains weapons to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence capabilities. It offers ammunition for Patriot missile batteries, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Avenger and Stinger air defence systems, mine-clearing tools, anti-armor rounds, unguided Zuni aviation rockets, night vision equipment, and around
30 million rounds for small weapons and an unspecified number for other types of artillery.
A unusual drone strike that was directed at Moscow on Tuesday only slightly damaged residential structures. According to Russian officials, the West, which has fought a gruelling struggle to prevent it from spreading beyond Ukraine, has not sufficiently denounced the attack on Russian soil.
Asked about Moscow’s criticism that the West is quietly supportive of attacks inside Russian territory, Kirby scoffed that the Russians are “not going to believe anything I have to say” on the matter.
But he added, “I don’t think we’re going to take it upon ourselves as a responsibility to privately explain that to the Russians,” he said that the U.S. has made it clear that it will not change its stance regarding neither allowing or promoting strikes within Russia.
Officials from Ukraine celebrated the drone strike on Tuesday but refrained from taking credit—a stance they have taken in the past following attacks on Russian territory.
The drone weapons included in the current aid package are not described in detail, and it is not known which unmanned aircraft will employ them, according to U.S. officials. For the past year, the Defense Department has provided Ukraine with a range of unmanned aircraft for both surveillance and assaults, including at least two Switchblade variants, a so-called kamikaze drone that can linger in the air before detonating into a target.
Since Russia struck on February 24, 2022, the U.S. has sent Ukraine more than $37.6 billion in arms and other equipment, including the most recent assistance. According to authorities, this most recent cargo will be carried out in accordance with presidential drawdown authority, which enables the Pentagon to quickly deploy weapons to Ukraine by taking them from its own stockpiles.
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