The US sends the first shipment of military aid to Ukraine
The first shipment of US military aid ammunition arrived in Kyiv on Friday. US President Joe Biden approved the $200 million support package in December. The Biden administration also endorsed a move by the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) to send US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles and air defence missiles to Ukraine. Overall, the US has provided $650 million in defence equipment and services to Ukraine in the last year.
The shipment arrived hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his foreign counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva earlier this week. The meeting ended with no breakthrough.
The head of NATO has warned that there is a risk of a conflict in Ukraine after roughly 100,000 Russian troops massed on the border. The Kremlin has denied it is planning an invasion, but President Vladimir Putin has issued demands to the West including that Ukraine will never be allowed to join the EU and the removal of most of the US and ally military presence in eastern Europe. Washington, Brussels, and NATO have rejected these demands and warned that any attack on Ukraine will be costly for Russia.
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