US announces $400 million in new security aid for Ukraine
The Biden administration has authorised an additional $400 million in security assistance to war-torn Ukraine, including aid defence.
The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan talks to reporters at the White House, in Washington, DC, USA, on Thursday, November 10, 2022.PAP/EPA/Ken Cedeno
The new weapons package was announced by the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Thursday night, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
HAWK, Avenger, HIMARS
Washington’s latest security aid to Kyiv includes missiles for HAWK and Avenger air defence systems, more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, as well as grenade launchers, mortar and artillery rounds, and other battlefield supplies, according to the US broadcaster CNN.
The package announced on Thursday marks the 25th time the White House has sent security aid to Ukraine using the so-called presidential drawdown authority, officials said.
The US Defence Department draws the arms and equipment from current US inventories to send abroad, rather than purchasing new weaponry from producers, CNN reported.
‘Critical air defence’
Sullivan told a briefing at the White House: „This equipment will complement other air defence contributions announced by our allies and partners.”
„This increased air defence will be critical for Ukraine, as Russia continues to use cruise missiles and Iranian-made drones to attack critical civilian infrastructure,” he added.
Russia’s Kherson retreat ‘a significant military milestone’ for Ukraine
The US national security adviser also said that if “Russia follows through and withdraws to the far side of the Dnieper River” from Ukraine’s southern Kherson City, then “this is a significant military milestone for the Ukrainians.”
He added: “But if this does come to pass, that will mean in the Battle of Kyiv, in the Battle of Kherson, in the Battle of Kharkiv, the Ukrainians will have prevailed against an invading marauding force that conducted an illegal war in their country.”
At the same time, Sullivan dismissed suggestions that the US was pressuring Ukraine to start negotiations with Russia if the Kyiv forces managed to liberate Kherson City.
The US security official told reporters at the White House: “as the President [Joe Biden] said yesterday, we’re guided by a very simple principle: ‘Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.’”
“The United States is not pressuring Ukraine…. What we are doing is consulting as partners,” he added.
(pm)
Source: PAP, CNN, dailymail.co.uk, whitehouse.gov, ukrinform.net
