US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced this Wednesday (15), in Kiev, additional funding of US$ 2 billion (around R$ 10 billion) to help Ukraine buy weapons and increase its capabilities. production of its own military industry.
The new resources are in addition to almost US$61 billion (about R$314 billion) in military aid to Ukraine approved by Washington last month, Blinken said at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital.
“Today, I want to add to that (the aid package approved in April) $2 billion in foreign military aid funding for Ukraine, which we raised in a defense industry fund that is the first of its kind,” Blinken declared after meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.
Blinken went on to explain that the new fund will primarily be used to provide Ukraine with more weapons in the short term by purchasing military equipment from the US and other countries. The money will also finance investments to expand the Ukrainian military industry’s ability to produce weapons for its own army and for export.
Blinken highlighted the positive impact these investments in the military sector will have on entrepreneurship and innovation in Ukraine.
The US Secretary of State began this Tuesday (14) a two-day visit to Kiev to reaffirm his support for Ukraine after Russia opened a new front last Friday in the Kharkiv region, in the northeast of the country.
Blinken said the new aid comes at a “critical time” for Ukraine due to Russia’s “renewed brutal aggression.”
The US Secretary of State also insisted that the White House is “accelerating” the delivery of ammunition, missiles and air defenses to Ukraine, aiming to stabilize the situation on the battlefield “as quickly as possible”.
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