The United States is beefing up its assistance to Ukraine. If he still excludes a no fly zoneJoe Biden on Wednesday authorized the sending of 800 million dollars in additional military aid to Ukraine, an “unprecedented” envelope of one billion dollars in one week to deal with the Russian invasion.
“At the request” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had called for more aid in the morning in a fervent speech to the American Congress, the President of the United States signed, in front of the cameras, the text which allows this massive shipment new equipment. But, unsurprisingly, he did not accede to the request of the Ukrainian head of state to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine: for Washington, such a decision would lead to a direct confrontation with Moscow. and, as Joe Biden once said, “World War III.”
Drones and surface-to-air missiles
The American president nevertheless promised to allow the Ukrainian army to equip itself with more efficient equipment, in particular in the face of the dangers coming from the sky: the United States will thus help Ukraine to obtain anti-aircraft defense systems “longer range”, which kyiv demanded.
Gregory Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, clarified on CNN that these statements refer to “S-300”, Russian surface-to-air missile systems, which could be sent to Ukraine by other NATO member countries.
In detail, Ukraine will also receive 800 “Stinger” anti-aircraft defense systems, 9,000 anti-tank systems, around 7,000 light weapons (rifles, automatic weapons, pistols, etc.) and 20 million munitions. The United States will also donate 100 drones, which, according to the American president, “exemplifies our commitment to give Ukraine our most advanced systems for its defense”. According to the NBC channel, these are Switchlade mini-kamikaze drones, capable of destroying armored vehicles.
Calling Vladimir Putin an “autocrat” who attacks “the human will to be free” across Ukraine, Joe Biden assured that “America stands with the forces of freedom”. The Russian president “is inflicting appalling destruction on Ukraine, he is attacking residential buildings, maternity wards, hospitals. It’s abominable,” he said.