The White House says Russia “will not prevail” after announcing a $125 million aid package aimed at bolstering Ukrainian air defenses.
The United States has announced a new round of military assistance to Ukraine, following a phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden.
The Pentagon said Friday that the latest aid package would be worth $125 million, and Biden said it would include air defense munitions, ammunition and anti-armor missiles.
“Russia will not prevail in this conflict. The independent people of Ukraine will prevail, and the United States, our allies and partners, will continue to stand with them every step of the way,” Biden said in a statement.
The United States has provided Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military assistance since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its territory in February 2022.
In the years since, Ukrainian forces have struggled to drive out Russian forces, which are short of crucial supplies and with no end in sight to the conflict.
I spoke with @POTUS Joe Biden and thanked him for his warm congratulations on the National Flag Day of Ukraine and the upcoming Independence Day.
The Ukrainian people thank President Biden, his administration, Congress, and all the American people for their steadfast…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 23, 2024
“Ukraine urgently needs the supply of weapons from the announced packages, in particular additional air defense systems for the reliable protection of cities, communities and critical infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on social media.
He thanked Biden for his “unwavering support since the early days of the full-scale war.”
The latest round of assistance also comes as Ukrainian forces continue to fight inside Russia, more than two weeks after launching a bold cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk province.
The presence of Ukrainian troops on Russian soil has become an embarrassing setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has blamed countries such as the United States for enabling Ukrainian attacks by supplying them with long-range weapons.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleschuk on Thursday shared a video he says shows Ukraine attacking a Russian platoon base in Kursk with US-supplied GBU-39 bombs.
While some analysts have expressed concern that Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil could increase the likelihood of an escalation of the conflict, the United States has maintained that it does not coordinate with Ukraine on such operations but rather provides it with weapons to fight off a Russian invasion.
Earlier on Friday, the US Treasury, State and Commerce departments announced new economic sanctions against Russia, aimed at limiting its ability to circumvent previous restrictions.
Critics say U.S. sanctions have made life harder for ordinary people in Russia without stopping the government from waging war in Ukraine.
