The latest $200 million U.S. military aid package for Ukraine includes anti-tank and air-defense missiles and mine-clearance equipment, the U.S. government announced Monday.
The US State Department on Monday confirmed the new military aid package, released last week by White House sources as new support for the counter-offensive launched by Kiev in early June.
Military equipment includes air defense munitions, artillery and anti-tank equipment, as well as additional mine-clearance equipment, the State Department said.
The latest military aid package from the administration led by Joe Biden is funded by the program that draws weapons from existing US reserves.
“Every day Russia kills Ukrainian citizens and destroys civilian infrastructure, while fueling hunger and contributing to global food insecurity through the destruction of Ukraine’s civilian ports and grain infrastructure.”the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The department led by Antony Blinken also assured that Washington will continue to support Kiev “for as long as necessary”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also responded with gratitude to the new military aid package “Joe Biden, to Congress and the American People”.
“[As armas] will strengthen our armed forces. Another step towards our joint victory”he stressed.
Ukraine has received more than $43 billion from the US since Russia invaded the country last year.
Kiev claimed small claims this Monday as part of the counter-offensive launched more than two months ago to liberate all Russian-held territories.
In the city of Bakhmut, in the east of the country, Moscow’s troops are now defending it after taking it in May after months of bloody fighting.
The Ukrainian deputy defense minister announced on Monday that the Ukrainian army has recaptured three kilometers of territory near Bakhmut.
“Three kilometers were reclaimed in the Bakhmut sector last week. A total of 40 kilometers have already been reclaimed on the southern flank of the Bakhmut sector”a city taken by Russia in May, Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian television.
Further south on the eastern front, the Ukrainian deputy minister reported an “extremely difficult” situation around Avdiivka, where Russian troops are trying to take over from the Ukrainians.
On the southern front of the Ukrainian offensive, which started in June, Kiev forces had “some successes” south of Staromayorske, a town recaptured from Moscow forces in late July, Hanna Maliar added.
Fighting continues, mainly to recapture the nearby town of Urozhaine.
In the Kherson region, the deputy minister also reported actions by “certain units” from Ukraine on the eastern bank of the Dnieper, from where the Russian army withdrew in November 2022, making the river the front line.
But Ukrainian forces are struggling further north, around Kupiansk, and Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to reiterate that Kiev’s counter-offensive has already failed.
Source: DN
