US President Joe Biden announced that Washington would provide new military aid to Kiev. File. | Photo credit: AP
US President Joe Biden spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday and announced a new round of military aid for Kiev, the White House said.
The conversation between the two leaders came just ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day, the same day that Washington announced sweeping sanctions against hundreds of individuals and companies with ties to Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of the country,
“I am proud that we will announce today a new package of military assistance for Ukraine,” Mr. Biden said in a statement, though he did not give the dollar value of the aid.
“The package includes air defense missiles to protect Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, anti-drone equipment and anti-armor missiles to defend against Russia’s changing tactics on the battlefield, as well as ammunition for front-line troops and mobile rocket systems to protect them,” he said.
“Russia will not win this conflict,” Mr. Biden said. “The free people of Ukraine will win — and the United States, our allies, and our partners will stand with them every step of the way.”
The United States has been a major military supporter of Ukraine, committing more than $55 billion in arms, ammunition and other security assistance since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The latest aid announcement comes at a time when Ukrainian troops attack western Kursk, Russia The attack is the most serious assault by a foreign force on Russian territory since World War II.
New sanctions on Russia
Earlier on Friday, the US Treasury, State and Commerce departments announced new sanctions that are in addition to existing ones imposed against Russia over the invasion.
The US Treasury Department announced in a statement that the sanctions target nearly 400 individuals and entities inside and outside Russia “whose products and services enable Russia to continue its war effort and evade sanctions.”
It said the banned companies included 60 Russian defense and technology firms “that are vital to the sustainability and development of the Russian defense industry.”
The State Department said in a separate statement that it was responsible for 190 sanctions, and the Treasury Department was responsible for nearly 200 others.
It said its sanctions were aimed at “disrupting sanctions evasion and target entities from a number of third countries”, including China as well as businesses supporting the development of Russian energy projects.
Alongside the sanctions announced Friday, the Commerce Department announced it was taking “aggressive action” to further restrict the supply of goods made in the United States, or labeled as such, to both Russia and Belarus because of the “Kremlin’s illegal war on Ukraine.”
“Today’s action will further disrupt Russia’s ability to provide weapons to its military by targeting an illicit procurement network designed to circumvent global export controls,” the department said in a statement.