Ukraine | The United States announce additional military aid worth 150 million dollars

Defence Redefined

Published on 12/06/2021 at 12:15

The Pentagon announced on Friday that it would provide additional military aid to Ukraine worth $ 150 million, just 24 hours before the long-awaited US-Russia summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday.

According to Ukraine’s Defence Attaché in Washington, Major General Borys Kremenetskyi the US will provide Ukraine with firefinder radars (counter artillery), maritime and air situational awareness systems, cyber defence and command and control (C2) systems.

The package announced by the Pentagon also includes training, equipment and consulting services to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for guarding the borders of the country adjacent to Russia.

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The US Department of Defence clarified that this is the rest of the aid to Ukraine approved by Congress for the current financial year, which expires on September 30.

In March, the United States had already announced $ 125 million in military aid to Ukraine. According to Washington, US military aid to the country has exceeded $ 2.5 billion since 2014.

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 from Ukraine, triggering a civil war in its eastern part. In this area, also known as Donbass, tensions between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev have been simmering for years. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then, according to UN estimates.

Also read: Ukraine | Heading towards a new crisis – Clashes between separatist forces and the army escalate – MAP

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will meet on June 16 on neutral ground for the first time since the veteran Democratic politician took over the US presidency. The summit will take place while bilateral relations have been marked by undiminished tensions in recent years, with Ukraine being just one of the issues on which the parties are at loggerheads. Washington accuses Moscow of many things, from human rights abuses to meddling in US elections and attacks on US digital infrastructure, among others.

With information from: CNA, militarytimes.com, defenceredefined.com.cy

* File Photo © US Army

Also read: Ukraine | Heading towards a new crisis – Clashes between separatist forces and the army escalate – MAP