Washington announces new $460 million aid package for Kyiv

The United States will provide Ukraine with another $460 million aid package, of which $450 million is for military supplies, informed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

“Today, in pursuance of the order of the President [Джо] Biden, I am authorizing our 32nd delivery of US arms and equipment to Ukraine for $450 million since August 2021, as the president announced during his visit to Ukraine,” he said in a statement.

This military assistance package includes HIMARS and howitzer shells that the US has previously supplied to the Armed Forces, new Javelin systems and air surveillance radars. According to RIA Novosti with reference to the Pentagon statement, it will also include about 2,000 armor-piercing missiles, four Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, two equipment repair vehicles, mines, night vision devices, etc.

Blinken’s statement also notes that another $10 million will be allocated to keep Ukraine’s energy infrastructure running.

Earlier today Kyiv for the first time visited US President Joe Biden. During the visit, he said that Ukraine would receive a new $500 million military aid package from the United States.

Biden’s arrival in Kyiv was not previously announced. The White House said that the US President will visit Poland from February 20 to 22, stressing that he will not travel to other countries.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of Western weapons to Kyiv. In particular, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on January 30 that Western supplies of new weapons to Ukraine lead to a significant escalation of the conflict, but this is not capable of and will not change the course of events.

At the same time, on February 18, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia’s victory in the Ukrainian conflict “would be extremely” dangerous for NATO, so it is necessary continue support Ukraine. The secretary general also believes that the countries of the alliance should prepare for confrontation with Russia: modernize their own armies, strengthen relations between European countries and the United States, and generally strengthen the “resilience” of Western society.