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US defence secretary announces aid as Zelenskiy pleads with west for more Patriot systems to defend Ukrainian cities
The US will provide Ukraine with additional Patriot missiles for its air defence systems as part of a massive $6bn additional aid package, the defence secretary has announced.
“This is the largest security assistance package that we’ve committed to date,” Lloyd Austin said after the conclusion of a virtual meeting of dozens of Kyiv’s international supporters.
The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot systems. The package also includes more munitions for the national advanced surface-to-air missile systems, or Nasams, and additional gear to integrate western air defence launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine’s existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to the Soviet era.
The package is the second this week, following another valued at $1bn that was announced just after the US president, Joe Biden, signed a much-delayed bill to provide new funding for Ukraine as it struggles to hold back Russian advances.
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The Russian influence on the US Congress is appalling and embarrassing. This took way too long to send.
Don’t forget the Zionist lobby that refused to send anything to Ukraine unless we refilled the IDF’s genocide ammo too, fucking shameful
They wanted to send aid exclusively to Israel. The aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan passed the Senate in February, only to stall in the House. Republicans tried to pass an Israel aid bill independent of Ukraine and Taiwan, and Biden said he’d veto it. After the Iran retaliation, House Republicans finally caved and passed the aid bill that’s been waiting since February.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/12/politics/senate-foreign-aid-bill-ukraine/index.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/05/joe-biden-veto-republican-standalone-israel-aid-bill
Ah, my mistake. In either case, the GOP shows yet again they’re willing to put politics over lives
They never miss an opportunity.
It cost hundreds, maybe thousands, of Ukrainians their lives. All in the service of Putin.
Love to see the aid heading to Ukraine!
Me too! I just wish it hadn’t taken so long. It shouldn’t have taken so long. And it has hurt Ukraine’s fight.
Better late than never, but the Kremlin’s assets in Congress probably still consider the delay an overall success.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“This is the largest security assistance package that we’ve committed to date,” Lloyd Austin said after the conclusion of a virtual meeting of dozens of Kyiv’s international supporters.
The package is the second this week, following another valued at $1bn that was announced just after the US president, Joe Biden, signed a much-delayed bill to provide new funding for Ukraine as it struggles to hold back Russian advances.
But unlike the $1bn package announced on Wednesday, which featured items that will be drawn from US stocks, the latest assistance will be procured from the defence industry, meaning it will take longer to arrive on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, discussed the need for Patriots early on Friday with the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting.
The meeting fell on the second anniversary of the group, which Austin said had “moved heaven and earth” since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armoured vehicles and even jets to help Ukraine rebuff Russia’s invasion.
US officials said the aid package would be funded through the Ukraine security assistance initiative (USAI), which pays for longer-term contracts with the defence industry and means that it could take many months or years for the weapons to arrive.
The original article contains 622 words, the summary contains 218 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
