He US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austinannounced this Friday that they are released $6 billion in aid for Ukraine. It is part of the 61,000 million approved this weekas a way to make up for lost time in deliveries to kyiv after months of stagnation in Congress.
Is he second package of this week, after one of about 1 billion that was announced just after US President Joe Biden signed the gigantic bill, at a time when Ukraine faces difficulties on the battlefield against Russian troops.
US aid to Ukraine in the midst of the war against Russia
“I am (…) delighted to announce today an additional commitment of $6 billion through our Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative“Austin told reporters at the end of a videoconference meeting of dozens of kyiv’s international allies.
He added that it is the largest amount to date and that the armament will include air defense ammunition, anti-drone systems, artillery ammunition and support material. The United States has already provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to kyiv since Russia invaded Ukrainian territory, on February 24, 2022.
Why the United States helps Ukraine
This year, until this week, The Biden government had only announced an allocation of $300 million, in March, from money the Pentagon had saved on other purchases. This is due to the arduous negotiations that took place in Congressin a tense context between Republicans and Democrats in the midst of the campaign for the presidential elections next November.
Finally, The House of Representatives (Lower) approved a foreign assistance bill on April 20 that authorizes the disbursement ofe 95 billion dollars, including 61 billion for Ukraine. The Senate gave the go-ahead on Tuesday and Biden signed it the next day.
The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky estimated this Friday that Russia strategically took advantage of the delay to gain ground. “While we were waiting for a decision on American support, the Russian army managed to take the initiative on the battlefield,” Zelensky said in the video conference with allies.
“Now, we can still not only stabilize the front, but also advance, achieving our goals in the war,” he said.
But on Thursday a US military commander qualified that optimism. The aid unlocked by the United States and other countries “will allow Ukrainians to begin to take back the initiative”he considered, but “this will not be a quick process.”
Source: Ambito
