Meteorologia

  • 18 MAIO 2024
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17º
MIN 13º MÁX 20º

US could send military aid package to Ukraine in coming days

US officials said today that the Pentagon is ready to send a new $1 billion military aid package to Ukraine in the coming days.

US could send military aid package to Ukraine in coming days
Notícias ao Minuto

19:45 - 23/04/24 por Lusa

Mundo Ucrânia

The announcement comes after months of frustration and gridlock in the U.S. Congress and days after the Republican-led House of Representatives approved a $95 billion overall package to aid Kyiv’s war effort against Russia, as well as provide support for Israel’s ongoing battle with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and for Taiwan’s defense.

The three measures now head to the Democratic-led Senate for votes before going to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The votes follow weeks of high-stakes drama between Republicans and Democrats and even within the GOP, where a hard-right faction aligned with former President Donald Trump threatened to try to oust House Republican leader Mike Johnson, accusing him of being in league with the White House.

The largest portion of the overall package, $61 billion, is earmarked for military and financial assistance to Ukraine as it fights to repel the Russian invasion.

The package includes ammunition, including air defense munitions and large quantities of artillery ammunition sought by Ukrainian forces, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons.

U.S. officials said some of the weapons will be delivered to the front lines very quickly — potentially within days — but it could take longer for other defense articles to reach Ukraine.

The announcement Tuesday fulfills a pledge Biden made in a phone call Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. would send much-needed air defense weapons once the Senate approved the measure.

Zelenskyy said on the social media platform Telegram that Biden also assured him that a future aid package would include long-range weapons.

Last week, CIA Director Bill Burns warned that Ukraine could lose the war to Russia if Kyiv does not receive the military aid by the end of the year.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also told lawmakers that conditions on the battlefield were changing and that Russian forces were making incremental gains.

During a virtual meeting of defense ministers with the NATO-Ukraine Contact Group last Friday, Austin stressed the need for “immediate and concerted action” on air defense for Kyiv.

The U.S. decision to finally send the much-needed weapons comes as Pentagon leaders prepare to meet with defense officials from across Europe and around the world on Friday to discuss international support for Ukraine.

The gathering — created by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — has met monthly for the past two years, but in recent sessions officials have expressed growing exasperation with the U.S. impasse.

Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, the U.S. has sent more than $44 billion in weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.

For much of that time, the aid packages were transferred within a period of weeks, but the money began to run out last September.

In mid-December, the Pentagon said it had exhausted its authority to send weapons to Kyiv and would have to stop unless Congress authorized more aid.

Read Also: Russia claims conquest of several locations and points to 500,000 dead (Portuguese version)

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