The head of the Pentagon: the United States will supply Ukraine with weapons and equipment “as needed”
[ad_1]
The United States will provide Ukraine with weapons and equipment to protect the territory for as long as “as needed.” This statement was made by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at a press conference in Riga following a meeting with his Latvian counterpart Artis Pabriks.
“We are determined to help Ukraine, provide it with equipment and machinery to protect the territory. We will do this for as long as it takes,” said Austin (quote according to RIA Novosti).
At the same press conference, the head of the Pentagon noted that NATO does not seek to confront Russia and is not a threat to it. “Our position only reflects the commitment to Article 5 – an attack on one NATO ally means an attack on all,” the minister stressed.
On February 24, Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals.
Western countries, in turn, began to provide military assistance to Ukraine. This week, the Pentagon announced the allocation of a new $1 billion military assistance package to Ukraine. The new package will include, among other things, ammunition for the HIMARS MLRS and NASAMS air defense.
The US administration’s decision was criticized by Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov. According to him, Washington “continues to add fuel to the fire” and is not going to contribute to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized military assistance to Ukraine from Western countries. In particular, Russia sent a note of protest to all countries, including the United States, over the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said that by pumping weapons to Ukraine, Western countries do not allow it to take constructive steps and do not allow it to negotiate with Russia.
Subscribe on “Vedomosti” in Telegram and stay up to date with the main news of the economy and business
[ad_2]
Source link
