US finalizes $6bn Ukraine military package – Politico — RT World News
The Pentagon is preparing to announce a batch of weapons and munitions worth up to $6 billion to Kiev as early as Friday, anonymous officials told POLITICO.
Among the items included in the package are ammunition for Patriot air defense systems and NASAMS, artillery shells, HIMARS missiles, air-to-air missiles, drones, and anti-drone weapons, sources said. He said.
Washington has already rushed to withdraw $1 billion worth of ammunition from US military stockpiles, as soon as President Joe Biden signed the bill providing $61 billion in aid to the Ukrainian government.
However, the pending $6 billion payment will not come out of the Pentagon's stockpile, as it is being funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). The program requires the Pentagon to issue contracts to US military industries to build new equipment for Kiev. This means goods “It will probably not reach Ukraine for several years.” Politico noted.
The $61 billion aid package was approved earlier this week after months of waiting in Congress. It was signed by Republicans, who blocked it in the House, without getting anything in return from the ruling Democrats.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky blamed the suspension of US aid for a series of battlefield setbacks his army has suffered since last year. Most Western media expected a shift in Ukraine's fortunes after the approval of the new US funding.
An analysis published by The Economist on Thursday went so far as to suggest that the bill may have prevented a Russian attack this summer, launched by Moscow. “Maybe he hoped.” To be used in “Forcing Ukraine to surrender on humiliating terms.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin ignored the new US aid bill Unable to change Battlefield dynamics, which are strongly in Russia's favor. According to Dmitry, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin PeskovThe only thing the new American funding will do is kill more Ukrainians.
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