The United States announced on Thursday $600 million in new military aid to Ukraine, notably demining equipment and various types of ammunition.
This assistance is aimed at meeting “Ukraine’s battlefield needs” and shows the “unwavering support” of the United States, the Pentagon said in a statement.
However, this new aid will not be immediately available on the ground because it falls under the Security Assistance Program for Ukraine, under which Washington supplies that country with equipment through its defense industry or partners, rather than drawing directly on its stocks.
This announcement comes a day later about a multi-billion dollar program that includes, in particular, anti-tank ammunition with depleted uranium to give a “new impetus” to the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces.
This aid was also announced in Ukraine by American Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a surprise visit to that country.
This is the first time that the United States intends to send such depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, which is controversial because of the toxic risks to the military and population.
Their past efforts have “led to a rapid increase” in cancer cases and are therefore “very bad news” for which “responsibility will lie with the United States,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
The United States leads an international coalition supporting Ukraine and has pledged more than $43 billion in military aid to Kiev since the conflict began in February 2022.