\n
![](\"https:\/\/en.hamsonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/5149946.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday the 500-million-dollar package will provide urgently needed weapons and equipment to bolster Ukraine\u2019s defense against Russia.<\/p>\n
“The United States is providing another significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to our Ukrainian partners as they defend against Russia’s ongoing attacks,” Blinken said<\/p>\n
\u00a0The package includes ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) rocket systems, artillery rounds, drones, armored vehicles, and protective gear against unconventional weapons.<\/p>\n
The latest aid package follows two previous multi-million-dollar packages announced earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The announcement came despite Russia\u2019s earlier warning that it would respond to Ukrainian attacks that are carried out using US-supplied weapons and missiles.<\/p>\n
Moscow has repeatedly asserted that diplomacy is the only way out of the war in Ukraine and that the Western supply of weapons will only prolong the conflict.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the US Treasury announced the transfer of the $20 billion US share of a $50 billion G7 loan to Ukraine, directed to a World Bank fund to provide economic and financial aid to Kiev.<\/p>\n
According to the Treasury Department, this move fulfills the US’s commitment made in October to match the European Union’s pledge of $20 billion in aid backed by frozen Russian assets, in addition to smaller loans from Canada, Britain, and Japan, to help Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin announced a new $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine, which includes drones and munitions for the HIMARS previously supplied by the US. This latest military assistance follows a separate announcement of $725 million in military aid made on December 2.<\/p>\n
Trump has consistently claimed he could swiftly resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict upon returning to the White House, raising concerns in Kiev that this resolution might entail the loss of territory already annexed by Russia.<\/p>\n
Both Trump and many Republican lawmakers oppose substantial funding for Ukraine and other military initiatives, including those related to NATO<\/p>\n
MNA\/<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n