US: $1 Billion of Additional Military Aid, Depleted Uranium to Ukraine

By Staff, Agencies

US Secretary of Strate Antony Blinken announced over $1 billion of new military assistance to Ukraine during a visit to Kiev Wednesday.

The top diplomat said this package would help Ukraine's counteroffensive “build momentum”.

“Today, we're announcing new assistance totaling more than one billion dollars... That includes $665.5 million in new military and civilian security assistance,” Blinken said at a press conference with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

For his part, Kuleba underlined that “US assistance is not charity. Today, thanks to our partners, Ukraine is restraining Russia’s aggression,” adding Kiev would “never call for the deployment of American troops in Ukraine.”

Blinken's announcement comes shortly after the Pentagon said it will provide depleted uranium tank ammunition to Ukraine as part of a $175 million aid package.

The 120mm rounds are for the US M1 Abrams tanks that Washington has promised to Kyiv and which are expected to be delivered before the end of the year.

Depleted uranium munitions are controversial due to their association with health problems such as cancer and birth defects in areas where they were used in past conflicts, though they have not been definitively proven to have caused such issues.

The latest US assistance package for Ukraine also includes anti-tank missiles, artillery and mortar rounds, small arms ammunition, and demolitions munitions for clearing obstacles, the Pentagon said in a statement.