US announces new $125 million in military aid to Ukraine

2024-08-24 12:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

President Biden's administration is sending about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, the Defense Department said Friday, even as Washington works to better understand the long-term impact of Kiev's incursion into Russia more than two years after the war began. on a large scale.

The latest military aid includes air defense missiles, ammunition for HIMARS missile systems, Javelins and a variety of other anti-tank missiles, anti-drone systems and equipment, and other equipment.

The official announcement was made on Friday, the day before Ukraine's Independence Day.

The aid comes as Ukrainian forces continue to expand their surprise offensive into Russia, where Ukrainian officials say they have taken about 100 square kilometers of territory in the Kursk region. Russian troops, meanwhile, are advancing in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, around the city of Pokrovsky, an important logistics hub for the Ukrainian military.

Pentagon officials have said repeatedly that the United States is talking with Ukrainian leaders to get a better assessment of its long-term goals with the Kursk operation, especially after Russia's advance in the Pokrovsky area.

If the city of Pokrovsky falls, the defeat would jeopardize Ukraine's defenses and bring Russia closer to its goal of fully occupying the Donetsk region. Russian soldiers are now only 10 kilometers from Petrovsk.

Asked about the Kursk operation, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Thursday that "we are still working with Ukraine to understand the role of this offensive in their war objectives."

The United States, she said, understands that Ukraine wants to build a neutral zone along the border, but the US administration still has more questions about how that would advance Ukraine's broader war effort.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made his first visit on Thursday to the border area from where his forces launched the offensive on August 6. He said the Ukrainian army had taken control of another Russian village and captured more prisoners of war.

The latest aid brings the total amount of United States military aid to Ukraine to more than $55.7 billion since the start of Russia's full-scale offensive in Ukraine in February 2022./ Voa