Ukraine gets missile systems
US sends $300 million in military aid
4/2/2022 4:47 am
The Pentagon continues to increase its financial support for Ukraine’s defense. For example, combat drones, ammunition and night vision devices are to be supplied for several hundred million dollars in order to support the “territorial integrity” of the war-torn country.
The US is topping up its defense support to Ukraine by an additional $300 million. The Department of Defense in Washington announced on Friday (local time) that the additional $300 million in “security aid” includes laser-guided missile systems, Switchblade combat drones, ammunition, night vision devices, communication systems, spare parts and medical supplies. Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, the United States had already pledged aid totaling $1.6 billion.
The renewed increase in military support to Ukraine “underscores the United States’ steadfast commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. In this way, the US supported the “heroic efforts” of the Ukrainians to end the Russian war of aggression.
According to the White House, US President Joe Biden called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Wednesday to discuss further support for the Ukrainian army. After the 55-minute phone call, the White House said the US was working “day and night” to meet Ukraine’s requests for “security assistance.”
Ukraine already has 1000 anti-tank weapons
Germany is now also supporting Ukraine with armaments. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the German government had refused, citing its general policy of not sending deadly weapons to crisis areas.
The Ukrainian armed forces have meanwhile received, among other things, 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 surface-to-air missiles of the “Stinger” type from Bundeswehr stocks. The delivery of 2700 Strela anti-tank missiles from former NVA stocks was also approved. On Friday, the Federal Ministry of Defense confirmed that it had allowed 56 armored personnel carriers from former East German stocks to be resold to Ukraine.
However, the Ukrainian government has repeatedly expressed disappointment that the federal government has not responded to recent requests for arms deliveries. According to their ambassador Andriy Melnyk, it is about weapon systems that could be delivered immediately by the German armaments industry.