Blinken announces additional $2 billion in military funding to Ukraine in Kiev
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (right) shake hands before a joint press conference in Kiev, Ukraine. EFE/EPA/STR
Kiev (EFE) .- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced this Wednesday in Kiev an additional $2,000 million to help Ukraine acquire weapons from the United States and other countries and increase the production capacity of its own military industry. Announced.
The new funds are in addition to the nearly $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine approved by Washington last month, Blinken said at a news conference in the Ukrainian capital.
He said, “Today I want to add to that (the aid item approved in April) $2 billion for foreign military assistance to Ukraine, which we have mobilized into a fund for the defense industry, the first of its kind. ” Blinken after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Blinken then explained that this new fund would serve to provide Ukraine with more weapons in the short term, primarily through the acquisition of military material from the United States and other countries.
The money will also finance investments by the Ukrainian military industry to expand its weapons production capacity for its military and for export.
Blinken highlighted the positive impact these investments in military industry are having on entrepreneurship and innovation in Ukraine.
US supports protest against “renewed brutal aggression” against Ukraine
The US Secretary of State began a two-day visit to Kiev yesterday to reaffirm his support for Ukraine after Russia opened a new front in the region northeast of Kharkiv last Friday.
Blinken said the new aid funding comes at a “critical time” for Ukraine due to “renewed brutal aggression from Russia.”
The US Secretary of State also stressed that the White House is “accelerating” the supply of “ammunition, missiles and air defense” to Ukraine so that Kiev can stabilize the situation on the battlefield as soon as possible.