U.S. Says ‘Contingency’ Aid Ready If Russia Attacks Ukraine

By: - June 19, 2021

Source link

The United States has prepared contingency military aid in the event of further Russian military incursions into Ukraine, the White House said on June 18.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that recent U.S. media reports that the United States held back security assistance to Ukraine was “nonsense.”

Politico and The Washington Post reported this week that President Joe Biden’s administration set aside a military aid package to Ukraine worth tens of millions of dollars that included lethal weapons.

The potential package, which was said to include arms and more anti-tank missiles, had been drawn up in response to a Russian troop and military hardware buildup near Ukraine’s borders in the spring.

The military maneuvers caused consternation in Washington and European capitals about Moscow’s intentions at a time of increased fighting in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv and Kremlin-backed separatists.

The U.S. media outlets reported the United States temporarily halted the proposal when Russia said in April that it intended to reduce the more than 100,000 troops it had moved near the border areas.

Despite the withdrawal announcement, U.S. and Ukrainian officials say Russia has left some military hardware in place, which could be used to rapidly mobilize in the event of escalation.

Moscow says the remaining forces, including armored units and rocket systems, are in place for military drills later in the year.

The United States has provided more than $2.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014, when Russia forcibly seized Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and backed separatists in the east, sparking a war that has killed more than 13,000 people.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced a $150 million package to Ukraine of “defensive lethal assistance,” including counter-artillery radars, communications and electronic warfare equipment, and counter-drone systems.

In March, the Pentagon announced another tranche of $125 million, including additional armed Mark VI patrol boats.

The assistance comes from funds already committed by Congress for the U.S. government’s fiscal year that ends in September.

“The idea that we have held back security assistance to Ukraine is nonsense. Just last week—in the run-up to the U.S.-Russia Summit—we provided a $150 million package of security assistance, including lethal assistance,” Psaki said in her statement.

“We have also prepared contingency funds in the event of a further Russian incursion into Ukraine,” she added. “As President Biden told President (Vladimir) Putin directly, we will stand unwavering in support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Biden has said he seeks a relationship with Russia that is “stable and predictable,” a message he sought to instill ahead of a summit with Putin this week when the two leaders discussed wide-ranging issues from cyberattacks and arms control to the conflict in Ukraine.

With reporting by Politico and The Washington Post

  • RSS WND

    • WATCH: Tucker Carlson: How will AI affect work?
      Mike Rowe, still one of the best guys in the world. pic.twitter.com/06WduOhPuB — Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 28, 2024 For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider! Content created… […]
    • MSNBC: 1 man's 'election denier' is another man's TV host
      MSNBC, the "news" outfit on which the Rev. Al Sharpton has a show, briefly hired former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, at $300,000 per year, to serve as an on-air pundit. Why did the rabidly anti-Trump, anti-Republican network make her the offer? MSNBC likely did so because 2024 is an election year; McDaniel was… […]
    • Dems' weakest case against Trump is first to go to trial
      Donald Trump was first indicted nearly a year ago, on April 4, 2023, when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced charges against the former president over a nondisclosure agreement Trump used to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels, with whom he had apparently had a brief sexual encounter. Bragg, an elected Democrat, won… […]
    • White House adds hair-sniffing contest to Easter Egg Roll!
      It's about time again for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. What the resurrection of Jesus has to do with eggs, chocolate candy, jelly beans or peeps is beyond me. Jesus did not arise from the dead and walk through the walls of the tomb holding an Easter basket and looking for eggs laid… […]
    • Say it, media: DEMOCRATS are prosecuting Trump
      On March 25, "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart uncorked a typical not-so-funny sermon about how Donald Trump overvaluing real estate properties was not a "victimless crime." Trump has been found liable for fraud despite no banker or financier ever claiming Trump victimized them. Then the New York Post reported talk-show host Tim Pool tweeted that… […]
    • Our subsidiarity vs. their intersectionality: How we win
      In their weekly podcast, Hollywood veteran Loy Edge and longtime WND columnist Jack Cashill skirt the everyday politics downstream and travel merrily upstream to the source of our extraordinary culture. The post Our subsidiarity vs. their intersectionality: How we win appeared first on WND.
    • The shocking beliefs of America's powerful 'elites'
      It is becoming increasingly clear that some of America's most serious problems can be traced back to our colleges and universities – or at least the ones educating the country's most powerful people. The Vietnam War era aside, it has traditionally been uncommon for events at universities to make national headlines. Absent something extraordinary, like… […]
    • Who is really behind Moscow terror attack?
      Was the Islamic State (ISIS) behind the Crocus City Hall terror attack in Moscow that killed 139 and wounded 182 on March 22, 2024, or not? The Islamic State did claim the attack, and the Western mainstream is agreed that the terror group was, indeed, behind it. On March 25, White House press secretary Karine… […]
    • Only Democrats get to lie on NBC News
      Ronna McDaniel, formerly chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, was recently hired and subsequently fired by NBC News when the "talent," unable to countenance even moderate dissent, revolted on air. The entire kerfuffle is unsurprising considering the state of modern "media." But one of the funniest moments of the McDaniel blowup came when host and… […]
    • Accept $40,000 loan offer from 'FIL'?
      Dear Dave, My wife and I owe about $40,000 on our mortgage. My father-in-law, who is a very nice and generous man, said he wants to pay off the house for us, then let us pay him back over time. We've borrowed much smaller amounts of money from him in the past, and we were… […]
  • Enter My WorldView