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US pledges US$1.7 billion in new military aid for Ukraine

  • Aid package includes US$200 million in equipment that will be drawn from existing US military stocks, the Defence Department said

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, visits an army command post in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Photo: Ukraine Presidency / dpa

The United States on Monday announced new military aid for Ukraine valued at around US$1.7 billion that features air defence munitions and artillery rounds that Kyiv’s forces say they desperately need.

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The aid includes US$200 million in equipment that will be drawn from existing US military stocks and will reach the battlefield quickly, as well as about US$1.5 billion in new orders that will take longer to arrive, the Defence Department said in a statement.

The help will provide Ukraine with several kinds of air defence munitions to protect against Russian strikes, artillery rounds, ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, and multiple kinds of anti-tank weapons, among other capabilities.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post that he was “deeply grateful” to his US counterpart Joe Biden, the US Congress and the American people for the help.

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The aid includes items that are “critical to strengthening Ukrainian defenders, as well as funding to sustain previously committed equipment from the United States,” he said.

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