US Announces $2 Billion MORE In Weapons For Ukraine
The U.S. announced billions in long-term military aid for Ukraine Friday morning as the war entered its second year.
Nearly $2 billion in security assistance features advanced drones, included Switchblade 600 Kamikaze drone, and electronic warfare detection equipment, the Pentagon said in a statement Friday. It also includes 155 mm artillery rounds and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems munitions in undefined quantities, an unusual move given that previous assistance packages have generally specified the amount of munitions supplied.
One year after Russia launched the invasion, “Ukraine’s brave defenders have not wavered, and neither has our commitment to support them for as long as it takes,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
Austin urged allies to remain “clear-eyed” about the stakes of the war, calling it the most urgent threat to face Europe since World War II.
“Difficult times may lie ahead,” Austin warned.
New assistance comes from a DOD authority allowing the Biden administration to order weapons directly off the production line instead of drawing from existing U.S. stockpiles, as has defined much of U.S. aid to Ukraine.
U.S. stockpiles of 155 mm rounds have fallen to critical levels, and it’s unclear how long it will take for the weapons industry to fill both orders for Ukraine and existing orders meant to backfill American stocks.
The U.S. has committed $32 billion in security assistance alone to Ukraine since the war began, Austin said.
The U.S. cracked down numerous companies — including those based in China — thought to be assisting Russia’s war effort as the conflict in Ukraine begins its second year, The Wall Street Journal reported. The sanctions package, announced in coordination with Group of Seven allies on Friday, names more than 200 individuals and entities tied to Russia’s defense sector as well as 90 companies helping Russia evade sanctions and restock its depleting weapons stores.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the G7 meeting said the U.S. is preparing an additional $10 billion in economic assistance for Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Russia is increasingly reliant on partners to supply goods sourced from Western companies before the war, as the U.S. and allies levied sanctions criminalizing business dealings with more and more Russian entities, according to the WSJ.
Yellen also said the U.S. has warned Chinese officials and companies against helping Russia evade sanctions, according to the WSJ. The threats come as Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has information that China is considering a move to permit its companies to directly transfer lethal aid, like weapons, to Russia.
However, the U.S. has not said what those consequences might be.
The U.K. joined the sanctions effort Friday, placing export bans on “every item Ukraine has found Russia using on the battlefield to date” aimed at “undermining Putin’s military machine,” according to a press release.
European Union member countries also plan to block more than $11 billion in Russian imports of goods including products that have both military and commercial applications, the WSJ reported.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Biden and all the Democrats and the Neocons have openly said that this is no longer a war to support Ukraine but to institute “regime change” in Russia. How did “regime change” work out in Iraq? In Afghanistan? Likely they and all the Democrat war mongers are making tons of money from the military industrial complex contractors like Raytheon or General Dynamics or their lobbyists. Ukraine was never in our national security interest and this is really basically a civil war between two of the most corrupt countries in the world. In fact, Ukraine used to be part of Russia for most of three centuries until 1991 when the USSR collapsed. And Biden says we will send endless unaccountable billions (over 115 billion so far) for that “proxy war” that we didn’t want, didn’t vote on, and Ukraine can’t win. Now Biden is sending our most advanced tanks and many are calling for us to send fighter jets. It’s past time to demand a negotiated peace before Branden keeps escalating us into WWIII.