OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:54 AM – Thursday, October 17, 2024
The United States has announced that it has sent another $425 million in military aid to Ukraine, following President Joe Biden’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday.
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“This announcement is the Biden Administration’s sixty-seventh tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021,” a statement from the Department of Defense read.
According to the press release, the military aid package includes air defense capabilities, armored vehicles, air-to-ground munitions, and a range of other munitions that were not specified to the press.
“The United States is committed to supporting Ukraine with the equipment it needs to strengthen its position on the battlefield, defend its territory and people from the Kremlin’s brutal aggression, and secure a just and lasting peace,” stated Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. “As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine.”
The war has continued on since February 2022, with an influx of aid and funds pouring into Ukraine thanks to the U.S. and European Union (EU).
“The majority of committed [Ukraine] support by country has come from the United States… The U.S. is followed by Germany and the United Kingdom for highest commitments overall,” U.S. News & World Reports announced in February.
Zelenskyy’s latest aid package comes after his visit to multiple western countries. During his trip, Zelenskyy detailed a “plan for victory” against Russia, claimed that the war is still winnable “no later than next year” through international partnerships, and requested more military assistance and intelligence sharing.
Ukraine also recently passed a mobilization law aimed at making the recruitment process more “efficient and transparent.”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov added that the influx of soldiers from the new recruitment process shows that Ukrainians are ready to “defend their land with weapons in their hands.”
“We have enough troops. However, we need support from international partners in weapons and equipment, and we require it fast,” he continued.
Zelenskyy has also urged his allies to provide long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russian territory, a request that President Biden has rejected, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that any western long-range missiles would result in a nuclear response from Russia’s side. Putin has consistently maintained that the U.S. would not be spared in the hypothetical nuclear war.
“I proposed considering the possibility of joint weapons production,” Zelenskyy added. “We also discussed the importance of additional training for Ukrainian soldiers.”
The United States estimates that roughly 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of the war, with an additional 100,000 to 200,000 injured.
Zelenskyy noted that the goal is to mobilize up to 500,000 additional soldiers.
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