(PresidentialHill.com)- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s unplanned visit to Kyiv on Thursday, the same day the Biden administration revealed massive additional military aid for Ukraine and other European countries threatened by Russia. The assistance is estimated to be worth more than $2 billion.
During meetings with senior Ukrainian officials, Blinken stated that the Biden administration had notified Congress of its intention to provide $2 billion in long-term Foreign Military Financing to Ukraine and 18 of Ukraine’s neighbors, including NATO members and regional security partners, that are most potentially at risk for future Russian aggression.
According to the State Department, approximately one billion dollars of that will be allocated to Ukraine, pending the approval anticipated by the United States Congress. The remaining funds will be distributed as follows: Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
It will be used to help those countries deter and defend against emergent threats to their sovereignty and territorial integrity by enhancing their military integration with NATO and countering Russian influence and aggression, according to the department’s statement.
The statement added that this support underscores the U.S.’s steadfast commitment to Ukraine’s future as a democratic, sovereign, and independent state. It also demonstrates America’s unwavering commitment to the security of allies and partners across the region.
The Foreign Military Financing, or FMF, program gives beneficiaries the opportunity to buy defense equipment developed in the United States, frequently according to the requirements of their armed forces.
The U.S. pledged $675 million to Ukraine at a conference in Ramstein, Germany. The package includes anti-tank systems, howitzers, artillery projectiles, Humvees, and armored ambulances.
The United States of America has accused Russia of interrogating hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, holding them, and then forcibly deporting them to Russia.
Russian authorities swiftly and categorically dismissed the accusation as a “fantasy” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Matthew Blinken in Kyiv.
