The US government has announced a new round of military aid for Ukraine, with a value of $250 million. This aid includes artillery shells, air defense munitions, mine-clearing equipment, and other military gear. The announcement comes as Kiev is launching a series of attacks on Russian cities as part of its ongoing summer offensive.
The State Department provided details of the new lethal aid on Tuesday, stating that Ukraine would receive additional munitions for the HIMARS rocket system, AIM-9M air defense missiles, Javelin and other anti-tank weapons, as well as 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition. This aid package is intended to support Ukraine’s efforts in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
However, Russia’s embassy in Washington condemned the weapons transfer as “the height of hypocrisy.” They accused US officials of using Ukraine as a pawn in their fight against Russia, stating, “The United States will not give up the concept of fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian.” The embassy also connected the aid to recent comments made by US Senator Mitt Romney, who claimed that American assistance to Ukraine was weakening Russia and China at a low cost.
The embassy criticized Romney’s statement, stating, “His words dot the i’s and cross the t’s. The lives of citizens of other countries do not matter much.” They suggested that the US was disregarding the lives of Ukrainians and using them for their own political agendas.
This latest arms shipment brings the total value of direct US military aid to Ukraine to over $43 billion since the conflict with Russia escalated last year. Despite significant support from Western sponsors, Ukrainian forces have struggled to reclaim territory during their summer counteroffensive. US intelligence officials have reportedly raised doubts about the chances of Ukraine achieving its objectives in the conflict.
While Kiev’s primary objective is to capture land toward the Azov Sea coast to sever Moscow’s land bridge into Crimea, there are concerns that they will fall short of this goal. Behind the scenes, US officials believe that Ukraine will not achieve its principal objective.
In response to the Ukrainian offensive, Russian forces have continued to defend their territory. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that their air defenses had intercepted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and repelled coordinated attacks across five different regions. Ukrainian forces have increasingly turned to strikes further into Russian territory, including attempted drone bombings in Moscow.
The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, with the involvement of the US and other Western countries, has raised concerns about the escalation of tensions in the region. The provision of military aid to Ukraine by the US is seen by some as exacerbating the conflict and undermining efforts for de-escalation and peaceful resolution.
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