Europe 1 with AFP
modified to
2:02 p.m., September 08, 2022
In the context of the conflict in Ukraine, the United States approved this Thursday a new aid of two billion dollars for kyiv. For the occasion, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Ukraine to discuss this new aid. This aid is in addition to the $675 million in direct support for the delivery of weapons, announced on Thursday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Ukraine on Thursday for a surprise visit to discuss a new tranche of $2.7 billion in aid for kyiv and its neighbors to deal with Russia. The head of American diplomacy made the trip in secret, for this second visit to kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. “The secretary really wanted to come because this is really an important moment for Ukraine,” said a US official on condition of anonymity.
Counteroffensive
Ukraine has accelerated in recent days a counter-offensive in the south of the country, occupied by Russian forces, and President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday evening that his soldiers had retaken localities in the north-east, in the Kharkiv region. . The new tranche of aid from Washington is made up of 675 million in direct aid for the delivery of arms and ammunition to kyiv and two billion in loans and subsidies for the purchase of American arms for Ukraine and 18 of its neighbours.
Among these eligible countries are Georgia and Moldova, which have areas on their territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists, as well as the Baltic countries or even Bosnia, where tensions are increasing with the Serbian leaders. Antony Blinken informed Congress of the granting of these 2 billion dollars intended to “strengthen the security of Ukraine and 18 of its neighbours”, including “a large number” of NATO countries and “of other regional partners” feeling threatened by Russia, said a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
4 billion dollars in loans to Ukraine
Earlier Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced $675 million in aid to Ukraine for the delivery of arms, ammunition and HIMARS, artillery systems that have already enabled kyiv to hit the Russian supply lines. The United States has already approved $4 billion in loans and grants to Ukraine and its neighbors in the fiscal year that ended in June.
Western arms shipments enabled Ukrainian forces to halt the Russian advance by hitting their logistical lines, and last week to launch a massive counter-offensive in the south and northeast of the country.