US military aid arrives in Ukraine amid Russian border tensions News
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Submission of US Secretary of State Antony Blink’s visit to Kiev this week in the wake of the concerns of thousands of Russian soldiers gathered on the border.
The first shipment of a $ 200 million security package to Ukraine has arrived in Kiev, according to the US embassy.
The delivery was made after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Visit to Kiev this week, amid concerns over Ukraine and its Western allies, thousands of Russian soldiers gathered on the Ukrainian border. Russia has refused to plan a new military offensive.
Washington approved a $ 200 million package in December.
“The United States will continue to provide such support to the Ukrainian armed forces in support of their efforts to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against the Russian attack,” the embassy said on Facebook on Saturday.
The Ukrainian defense minister thanked the United States for its support.
Meanwhile, the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and the Baltic Lithuania will send U.S. anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, Blinken said Washington fully supported.
“I hastened and allowed and fully support the transfer of equipment by NATO allies from Estonia to Latvia, Lithuania to Ukraine, in order to strengthen its ability to defend itself against unprovoked and irresponsible attacks by Russia,” he wrote.
I hastened and authorized and fully accept transfers of defensive equipment @NATO Allies ???????? ???????? ???????? are being given to Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia’s unassailing and irresponsible aggression. https://t.co/wFOLv0Wi2V
– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 22, 2022
“We salute Ukraine for its long-standing support.”
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said this week that the supply of weapons to Western Ukraine was very dangerous and that they had “nothing to reduce tensions.”
The West has rejected Moscow main requirements – NATO has promised that Ukraine will never be added as a member, that it will not deploy an alliance weapon near the Russian border and that it will withdraw its forces from Central and Eastern Europe.
The meeting between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ended on Friday no progress.
‘Standing together’
In a joint statement issued on Friday night, the defense ministers of the three Baltic states said they “agree with our commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of the ongoing Russian attack.”
They said that Estonia would provide Ukraine with weapons against Javelin tanks, while Latvia and Lithuania were sending anti-aircraft missiles and other related equipment to strengthen military defense capabilities in Kiev.
“Ukraine is at the forefront of Europe’s military conflict with Russia. Let’s face it: the war in Ukraine is moving forward and it’s important to help Ukraine in every way we can to fight the attacker, ”said Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet.
It was not immediately clear when the weapons and equipment would be sent to Ukraine.
In a separate development, Estonia is seeking German approval to send Soviet-made shells, once from East Germany, to Ukraine. Estonia bought shells from non-NATO members in Finland, which it bought from the German military surplus in the 1990s.
The German government said on Friday that it was considering a request for Estonia to pass the shells to Ukraine, but did not give it a deadline to make a decision.
Speaking from Istanbul (Turkey), Matthew Bryza told the Atlantic Council that the gathering of troops on the Ukrainian border was “an unprecedented peacekeeping military force”, believing that the war was not a “favorite result” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Full-scale invasion is expensive. It is dangerous because there will be many dead Russians [and the] The Ukrainian military is much better equipped than it was in 2014, ”he told Al Jazeera.
In 2014, Russia seized the Crimean peninsula after the overthrow of the Moscow leader in Ukraine and sided with the separatist armed uprising in eastern Ukraine.
“Ukrainian civilians are ready to fight. There will be a partisan war for years to come, which will result in heavy casualties, ”Bryza added.
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