A new massive shipment of weapons to Ukraine to make the United States and the world “safer” in the face of the dangers of tyranny. After months of stalemate on Capitol Hill, Joe Biden has scored an important victory both in terms of elections and on the foreign policy front with the final approval of his 95 billion spending law, of which a first tranche of 1 billion is intended to Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces as part of a total of 60.8 for Ukraine which also includes humanitarian and economic aid.
In the evening, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan officially confirmed that the US had delivered ATACMS long-range missiles to Kiev. In the official list released by the Pentagon on the first tranche of one billion there are air defense systems, artillery shells, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons that are already found in American depots in Europe.
And even though last October the Defense Department had sent medium-range weapons to Ukraine without much publicity, the leader of Kiev had continued to push for a weapon that could strike beyond Moscow’s lines.
The approximately 200 long-range missiles would have arrived in March, as part of a 300 million dollar package, and would have already been used twice by the Ukrainian army to hit a Russian military airport in Crimea last Wednesday and Russian troops in southeast of the country during Tuesday night. Key members of Congress were informed about the secret Atacms shipment at the time, but the Biden administration made no public announcement.
Furthermore, according to what a senior American administration official revealed, this new package will also include powerful missiles, capable of hitting up to 300 km. For Biden, who thanked Republican Speaker Mike Johnson for having unblocked the law in the House by challenging Trumpian extremists, it is “an investment” in the security of the United States and its allies.
“America does not bow to anyone, least of all Vladimir Putin”, warned the American president, assuring that the United States “will defeat the dictators of the world”. “If our partners are stronger, so are we”, he underlined, promising, once again, not to “leave friendly countries alone”.
Zelensky for his part thanked the US Senate for approving the law, calling the next shipment of weapons a “vital aid” for his forces. “Long-range weapons, artillery and air defense are key tools to restore peace as soon as possible,” said the Ukrainian leader who did not explicitly mention the Atacms.
With this type of weapon, however, the Ukrainians were able to inflict serious damage on the Kremlin forces, as demonstrated by the videos published by the inhabitants of the affected areas last Wednesday, where devastating fires could be seen and the windows of the houses near the airport destroyed by the ‘explosion. “The key now is speed. The speed of implementing agreements with partners on the supply of weapons for our warriors. The speed of eliminating all Russian plans to evade sanctions.
The speed in finding political solutions to protect lives from Russian terrorism”, underlined the Ukrainian president. “Every leader who wastes no time is a lifesaver. Every state that can act quickly safeguards the rules-based world order. I thank all those – said Zelensky – who help our people in the world to restore a normal life after the Russian attacks. I thank all those who help our warriors defend the cities and villages of Ukraine from Russian evil.”
The Pentagon, ‘a billion dollars in new weapons for Ukraine’
The Pentagon has announced, confirming press rumors, that the new arms package for Ukraine is worth one billion. Among the equipment that will be sent to Kiev’s forces in the coming days are air defense systems, artillery shells, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.
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