U.S. Pours In $3.7B To Beef Up Ukraine's Arsenal vs Russian Invasion

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday, April 25, 2022, after a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kyiv that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is committed to winning his country’s fight against Russia and that the US will help him achieve that goal, Matthew Lee and David Rising reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: (from left to right) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

“He has the mindset that they want to win, and we have the mindset that we want to help them win,” Austin told reporters in Poland, the day after the three-hour face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy in Ukraine.

Austin and Blinken announced a total of $713 million in foreign military financing for Ukraine and 15 other countries, with $322 million earmarked for Kyiv.

Such financing is different from previous US military aid for Ukraine. It is not a donation of drawn-down US Defense Department stockpiles but rather cash that Kyiv can use to purchase supplies it needs.

The new money, along with the sale of $165 million in non-US-made ammunition that is compatible with Soviet-era weapons the Ukrainians use, brings the total amount of US military assistance to Ukraine to $3.7 billion since the invasion, officials said.

Biden has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing genocide in Ukraine. On Thursday, Biden said he would provide a new package of $800 million in military aid to Ukraine that included heavy artillery and drones. Congress approved $6.5 billion for military assistance last month as part of $13.6 billion in spending for Ukraine and its allies in response to the Russian invasion.

Austin said the nature of the fight in Ukraine had changed now that Russia has pulled away from the wooded northern regions to focus on the eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas. Because the nature of the fight has evolved, so have Ukraine’s military needs, and Zelenskyy is now focused on more tanks, artillery, and other munitions.

“The first step in winning is believing that you can win,” Austin said. “We believe that they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support, and we’re going to do everything we can ... to ensure that gets to them.”

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