Biden approves new military aid package for Ukraine

Current US President Joe Biden has approved a new aid package for Ukraine worth $988m, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said during a briefing on Thursday, December 12.

The U.S. will provide additional military support to Kiev "until the end of the term" of the Biden administration, Kirby emphasized.

According to him, the package will include air defense equipment, artillery ammunition, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and armored vehicles.

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The Russian Embassy in Tokyo warned that the transfer of such weapons through any channels would be regarded as a hostile act

Earlier, on December 10, the U.S. Treasury Department said that Washington had allocated a $20 billion loan to Kiev, which is expected to be repaid with proceeds from frozen Russian assets. The head of the ministry, Janet Yellen, recalled that this tranche represented a part of the $50bn loan that the G7 countries were going to give to Ukraine. She said that the United States should tighten anti-Russian sanctions.

Before that, on December 7, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the total amount of military support to Ukraine from allies since the beginning of the special military operation exceeded $119 billion, which also includes $62 billion of U.S. aid.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of the special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.