Representatives of the US Republican Party in the House of Representatives of Congress introduced a bill that provides for the provision of additional military assistance to Kiev. This was reported on January 10 by The Hill.
The document called “Guarantees of Ukrainian autonomy through strengthening of defense” (GUARD Act) was submitted for consideration by a group of Republicans, in particular Mike Rogers from Alabama and Michael McCall from Texas.
Earlier, on December 15, a similar bill had already been submitted to the US Senate. According to the initiative, Washington will provide Kiev with “vital assets”, including ground-to-air missiles, air defense systems, as well as anti-ship missiles, anti-tank mines and other weapons.
In addition, the congressmen proposed “to support the early deployment of additional OSCE observers to monitor the Russian-Ukrainian border and report on acts of aggression.” It is also expected to allocate $ 450 million in military aid in 2022.
On January 10, a group of Russia experts called on US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to send more weapons to Ukraine. The day before, United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the country’s authorities would continue to supply Kiev with defensive weapons.
At the end of December, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock opposed the supply of weapons to Ukraine in connection with a possible military escalation. She stressed that further military escalation will not bring additional security to Ukraine.
Recently, in a number of Western media, information has appeared about the alleged plans of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. So, on December 4, the American newspaper The Washington Post, citing officials in the US administration, reported that Russia allegedly intends to invade Ukraine at the beginning of next year, using “up to 175 thousand troops.”
Moscow has repeatedly rejected such information. So, on December 23, during a press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin added that because of such statements, one gets the impression that the Ukrainian side is “preparing a third operation” in Donbass.
Also in Moscow, they criticized discussions about the supply of weapons to Ukraine. In November, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stressed that NATO should stop provocative activities near the borders of the Russian Federation, as well as stop “pumping up Ukraine with modern weapons.” in addition, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the United States, Germany and France to stop militarizing Ukraine. According to her, the incessant supply of weapons by Western countries strengthens the opinion of Kiev, according to which the resolution of the conflict in Donbass can be achieved through the use of force.