U.S. announces $125 million of arms, equipment to Ukraine

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The United States has announced a new package of weapons and equipment to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their country and their freedom against Russia’s aggression.

Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, in a statement on Friday said this package provided up to $125 million of arms and equipment authorized under previously directed drawdowns for Ukraine, and is accompanied by an announcement from the Department of Defense’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative on strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses.

“Until Russia ends this war by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks, the United States and the coalition we have built of more than 50 countries will continue to stand with Ukraine.

“We will continue to work with Congress to advance our national security interests by helping Ukraine defend itself and secure its future – a future in which its people rebuild and live safely in a resilient and thriving democracy,” Blinken said.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014.

The invasion was the biggest attack on a European country since World War II. It is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties.

By June 2022, Russian troops occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory. About 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II.

Extensive environmental damage caused by the war, widely described as an ecocide, contributed to food crises worldwide.