- In a message to Russia, the Biden administration announced on Friday that it was sending a new package of $150 million in military assistance to Ukraine
- The new $150 million package is in addition to a $125 million allocation that the Pentagon announced on March 1, which included armed Mark VI patrol boats
- In recent months, tensions increased as Ukraine and Russia traded blame for a surge in fighting in Ukraine’s Donbass
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a message to Russia, the Biden administration announced on Friday that it was sending a new package of $150 million in military assistance to Ukraine.
Included will be counter-artillery radar, electronic warfare equipment and counter-drone technology, in a bid to counter Russia in its ongoing confrontation along Ukraine’s eastern border.
The new $150 million package is in addition to a $125 million allocation that the Pentagon announced on March 1, which included armed Mark VI patrol boats.
Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014. The annexation triggered a conflict that has killed over 14,000 people.
In recent months, tensions increased as Ukraine and Russia traded blame for a surge in fighting in Ukraine’s Donbass. Russia responded by amassing troops on the Ukraine border.
In a statement, the Pentagon said U.S. security assistance included weapons systems “to enhance the lethality, command and control and situational awareness of Ukraine’s forces.”
Some of the military assistance for Ukraine will include counter-artillery radars, counter-drone systems, secure communications gear, electronic warfare and military medical evacuation equipment.
The United States is also to provide training and equipment to improve the operational safety of Ukrainian Air Force bases, it said.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, prior to a summit between Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16.
