Sun 23 January 2022:
It was the first supply of ammunition for “front-line defenders” as part of a recently approved package of US military aid for Ukraine.
Following US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv last week, where he warned of a harsh retaliation if Russia invaded, the message was delivered.
Moscow has vehemently denied any intention of attacking or invading Ukraine.
In December, US President Joe Biden approved a $US200 million security assistance package.
“This shipment includes close to 200,000 pounds of lethal aid, including ammunition for the front line defenders of Ukraine,” the embassy wrote.
“The shipment – and $2.7 billion USD since 2014 – demonstrates US commitment to helping Ukraine bolster its defenses in the face of growing Russian aggression,” it added.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov thanked the US for the shipment in a tweet, saying: “All Ukrainians highly appreciate US help in strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities.”
The US alongside its European allies has been warning that Russia is setting the stage for an invasion of Ukraine and has pre-positioned more than 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine alongside significant artillery and tank deployments. Moscow has denied it is preparing for a military offensive, saying its troops are there for regular exercises.
Russian forces have also amassed in ally Belarus, just north of Ukraine. The Kremlin has maintained that there too troops are taking part in exercises. It has also been steadily building up its force levels in Crimea.
Russia has seized Ukrainian territory before, annexing the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Since then, some 14,000 people have been killed and at least 2m fled their homes because of fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed rebels. A fragile peace agreement was made in 2015.
According to the UN, fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has seen more than 13,000 people killed since 2014.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
