US Pledges Abrams Tanks To Ukraine As Russian Airstrikes Kill 17
The United States has announced new assistance totaling more than $1 billion to Ukraine, including $665.5 million in new military and civilian security assistance.
The U.S. Government has also committed an additional $206 million for humanitarian assistance, emergency shelter for those whose homes were destroyed in Russian attacks, and medical support and health care for survivors of relentless Russian missile attacks and shelling.
It is estimated that more than 6 million Ukrainians were displaced by the more than a year-old Russian onslaught.
In total, Washington committed more than $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian aggression.
One of the biggest U.S. assistance so far was announced by Secretary Of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Ukraine Wednesday.
It was his sixth trip as Secretary of State to Ukraine and the fourth since the Russian full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.
At a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev, Blinken said U.S. Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine this fall and training will be provided to Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets in the United States, complementing the training that is already underway in Europe.
US Abrams tanks with shells are strong enough to pierce conventional tank armor.
A U.S. Department of Defense press release says the anti-tank weapons are made of depleted uranium, a by-product of uranium enrichment stripped of most radioactive material.
Russia criticized the move.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister said he discussed with Blinken about providing ATACMS long-range rockets.
“We never asked to send the U.S. troops to Ukraine, and we are not going to ask this. But we truly need support in this fight”, he told reporters.
The latest U.S. security assistance package includes more ammunition for artillery and HIMARS systems, Javelin, and anti-armor systems; tank ammunitions for Abram tanks; and air defense system to help Ukraine protect its people from air strikes.
Wednesday, while Blinken was in Kiev, Russia launched a new wave of air strikes on a market in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens more.
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