The United States of America (USA) announced this Wednesday in Brussels a new $200 million support package for Ukraine, which includes artillery ammunition, long-range missiles and anti-tank weapons.
“I am proud that the United States just announced its latest $200 million security assistance package to Ukraine. [cerca de 189 milhões de euros]”said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the beginning of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the headquarters of the Atlantic Alliance.
Lloyd Austin explained that the military aid package includes “AIM-9M ammunition for the new air defense system that Ukraine will soon receive, as well as artillery and missile ammunition, precision aircraft munitions, anti-tank weapons and capabilities against Russian drones. »
The US Secretary of Defense cast aside any remaining uncertainties. “Let there be no doubt. The United States will be close to Ukraine as long as it takes,” he emphasized.
Lloyd Austin added that the United States, along with the countries included in the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, is ready to provide weapons “as needed, for as long as necessary so that Ukraine can live freely” and defeat “overt Russian aggression.”
Lloyd Austin reported that with this new package, total United States aid since the “beginning of Putin’s war” was $43.9 billion (more than €41 billion).
The group of 50 countries that make up the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine – the so-called Ramstein Group – has provided a total of $33 billion (more than €30 billion) since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022.
“We need to hurry up and give Ukraine what it needs to meet current challenges while continuing to develop Ukraine’s combat capabilities to meet future threats,” the US minister added.
The statement, made by Lloyd Austin to allies and to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself, who is in Brussels today to attend meetings at North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, eases the uncertainty that has existed about continued US support. .
Doubts arose after a commitment in the North American Congress to avoid a federal government shutdown ruled out further support for Ukraine.
At the same time, more and more voices, especially within the Republican Party, are rebelling against the money and weapons Washington is providing to Kyiv.
Former US President Donald Trump (who belongs to the Republican Party) and Democrat Joe Biden’s predecessor in the White House is among those who have questioned the aid to Kyiv.
Joe Biden also expressed concerns about extending the aid, but statements from his defense secretary appeared to end the uncertainty, even leading to calls from European NATO partners.