(VOVWORLD) - US President Joe Biden announced a new 600 million USD arms package to help the Ukrainian military battle Russia, according to a White House memo sent to the State Department on Thursday.
Military aid, delivered as part of the United States' security assistance to Ukraine, is unloaded from a plane at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine February 13, 2022. (Photo: REUTERS) |
The package includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), night vision goggles, claymore mines, mine clearing equipment, and artillery rounds, the Pentagon said. The White House memo also mentioned the money will be used for military education and training.
Washington has sent about 15 billion USD in security assistance to the Kyiv government since the Russian-Ukraine conflict broke out in February.
Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that if the United States decided to supply Kyiv with longer-range missiles, it would cross a "red line" and become "a party to the conflict". In a briefing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added that Russia "reserves the right to defend its territory".Washington has supplied Ukraine with advanced GMLRS rockets that can hit targets up to 80 km away.
"If Washington decides to supply longer-range missiles to Kyiv, then it will be crossing a red line, and will become a direct party to the conflict," Zakharova said.
US officials say Ukraine has promised not to use US rockets to strike Russia itself.
Ukraine has requested and received large quantities of weapons from the United States and other Western allies to help it resist the Russian armed forces that were sent into Ukraine in February.