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The US government on Wednesday announced that it will provide Ukraine with an additional $1 billion in military aid, in response to repeated pleas for support from Kiev.
According to Press TV, in a statement, US President Joe Biden said he had informed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that the US was providing another $1 billion in military aid to the crisis-hit country.
He said the aid included “additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems”, which the Ukrainians need to “support their defensive operations in the Donbas”.
“The bravery, resilience, and determination of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire the world. And the United States, together with our allies and partners, will not waver in our commitment to the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom,” Biden said.
A report in CNN said the new package will include weapons that can be proficiently shipped from current US stockpiles to ensure long-term supplies for Ukraine.
The announcement came hours after the US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III called on Western allies to ramp up their military aid to Ukraine, saying the country was “facing a pivotal moment on the battlefield”.
“We can’t afford to let up, and we can’t lose steam,” Austin told the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a group of nearly 50 countries, during a meeting in Brussels.
The top American defense official praised the supply of arms to Ukraine but hastened to add that it was not enough. “The stakes are too high,” he asserted.
Ukraine has been pushed to the back foot by Russian forces that have made rapid advances in the east of the country, on the verge of seizing the strategic city of Sievierodonetsk.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday on Twitter that Russian forces were now in control of the city of Sievierodonetsk, citing intelligence reports.
Notwithstanding the supply of Western arms, the Ukrainian forces have struggled to fend off the offensive that began in late February.
Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday said a NATO warehouse had been destroyed by its missiles in the Lviv region, which was being used to store ammunition for weapons donated by NATO members.
