2024-04-26 06:53:13
Yesterday, 05:09
US sends billions in military aid package to Ukraine
“In the next few hours” we will begin sending anti-aircraft equipment, artillery, missile systems and armored vehicles to Ukraine, Biden said in a speech at the White House on Wednesday. According to an overview published by the United States Department of Defense, the new package, worth about one billion US dollars (about 914 million francs), contains artillery shells of various calibers and rockets, which are urgently needed for air defense systems and armored vehicles. According to consistent media reports, ATACMS missiles are also said to be included – although their range was initially unclear.
After months of domestic political deadlock, the US Congress, with Senate approval, approved billions in aid to Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, late Tuesday evening (local time) – thus paving the way for new arms deliveries. The law provides assistance worth about 61 billion US dollars (about 55.75 billion francs) to Kiev. The US government demanded long and hard that Parliament release the funds.
Zelensky thanks Biden for the immediate aid package from the US
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed relief at the American emergency aid package. “We are getting the support we need to defend our lives against Russian attacks,” Zelenskiy wrote on the X (formerly Twitter) platform. “I’m grateful to President Biden, to Congress and to all Americans who recognize that we need to pull the rug out from under Putin instead of sticking with him,” he said. Looking at the difficult situation on the front, the head of state of Ukraine also emphasized in his evening video address: “Now we will do everything we can to make up for the past six months in debates and doubts.”
The US has already delivered ATACMS long-range missiles
It also emerged on Wednesday afternoon that the US had delivered ATACMS missiles to Ukraine some time ago. The Ministry of Defense said the precision weapons had been quietly approved by the US government. They were part of an emergency military package for Ukraine announced by the United States of America in March, but were not specifically listed there “in order to maintain the operational security of Ukraine at its request.” There were no first information about these ATACMS missiles that had already been delivered as to whether they were models with a range of around 300 kilometers or those with a shorter range.
NBC News reported, citing US government officials, that the projectiles were used last week in an attack on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula and this week in an attack on the occupied city of Berdyansk in southeastern Ukraine.
In October, Ukraine already used US ATACMS missiles to defend itself against Russia’s war of aggression. At that time, these were models with a shorter range of around 165 kilometres. The Ukrainian government requested longer-range ATACMS missiles.
The weapons system (English: Army Tactical Missile System) is concerned that it could also attack targets in Russia. For this reason, the United States of America and other Western partners responded hesitantly to the demands from Kiev for a long time.
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Pistorius: Russian weapons production is already filling the warehouses
According to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Russia is already producing weapons and ammunition in excess of what is needed for a war of aggression against Ukraine. It is noted that, with the increase in military spending and the order of the war economy, “a large part or a part of what is newly produced no longer goes to the front, but ends up in the warehouses,” said Pistorius in the ARD program ” Maischberger At the same time, he warned about further military ambitions from Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Now you can be naive and say that he is doing this out of caution, I would say in this case he is doing this because, just in case, he has or may have something in mind.
Zelensky thanks Qatar for help in releasing kidnapped children
Meanwhile, Zelensky thanked the Gulf migration of Qatar for helping 16 children from Ukraine who were forcibly abducted to Russia. “Thanks to the mediation efforts of our friendly Qatar, they were released and reunited with their families,” Zelensky wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday afternoon. The children and their relatives are currently in Qatar for medical, psychological and social recovery.
By February, Ukraine said it had identified nearly 20,000 children who were said to have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. It is said that only hundreds of them have returned so far. The information could not be independently verified at first. Gulf states such as Qatar generally maintain good relations with Russia and try to remain neutral in the Ukraine war. Moscow is an important partner for them, for example in the energy sector. Russia has been accused of deliberately destroying the identity of Ukrainian children and causing deep emotional and psychological trauma through the violent abduction. (DPA)
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