"We Want Ukraine To Win": Blinken Pledges $700M In Aid To Ukraine
The United States on Wednesday announced additional $700 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, saying that it remained 'fully committed' to Ukraine's victory, to "not only ensuring that Ukraine can defend itself today, but can stand on its own feet strongly, militarily, economically, democratically for many, many days ahead," as Secretary of State Antony Blinken put it, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
"The bottom line is this: We want Ukraine to win," Blinken said in Kyiv after talks with Ukrainian leadership. "And we’re fully committed to keep marshalling the support that it needs for its brave defenders and citizens to do just that," he added.
The move came as Ukrainian officials renewed their pleas to use Western-provided missiles against targets deeper inside Russia. Blinken said, he had discussed the topic with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and would bring the discussion “back to Washington to brief the president” [Joe Biden] as the White House it poised to host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tomorrow where the leader will “no doubt” talk about the issue.
“We have adjusted and adapted as needs have changed, as the battlefield has changed. And I have no doubt that we’ll continue to do that as this evolves,” the top U.S. diplomat told a news conference along with his Ukrainian and British counterparts.
Blinken went on to add, "Our message, our collective message to Putin is clear: Our support will not wane; our unity will not break. Putin will not outlast the coalition of countries committed to Ukraine’s success, and he is certainly not going to outlast the Ukrainian people. They’ve never wavered in their belief that they and they alone will decide their future."
According to a State Department fact sheet, the new assistance to Kyib will “continue to support Ukraine and its people against Russia’s war of aggression."
The aid package includes $325 million to support Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, approximately $290 million in humanitarian assistance and over $103 million to “address landmines and unexploded ordnance left behind by Russia’s forces,” the State Department said.
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