Pentagon announces $125M defense aid package for Ukraine
This was said in an official statement released by the Pentagon on March 1.
“The Department of Defense announces a new $125 million package for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative that includes training, equipment, and advisory efforts to help Ukraine’s forces preserve the country’s territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO," the statement reads.
This action reaffirms the U.S. commitment to providing defensive lethal weapons to enable Ukraine to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression.
The USAI package includes two additional armed Mark IV patrol boats to enhance Ukraine’s capacity to patrol and defend its territorial waters. To date, the U.S. has committed a total of eight Mark IV patrol boats. The package also includes capabilities to enhance the lethality, command and control, and situational awareness of Ukraine’s forces through the provision of additional counter-artillery radars and tactical equipment; continued support for a satellite imagery and analysis capability; and equipment to support military medical treatment and combat evacuation procedures.
The remaining $150 million in fiscal year 2021 USAI funds appropriated by Congress will be provided when the Defense Department, in coordination with the Department of State, certifies that Ukraine has made sufficient progress on key defense reforms this year, as required by the National Defense Authorization Act.
The United States has committed more than $2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014 and remains committed to assisting Ukraine with the implementation of these reforms to advance its Euro-Atlantic aspirations in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic, and free Ukraine.
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