{"id":208979,"date":"2020-06-18T07:01:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T07:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=208979"},"modified":"2020-06-20T07:27:42","modified_gmt":"2020-06-20T07:27:42","slug":"us-will-send-ukraine-another-250m-in-weapons-gear-and-other-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=208979","title":{"rendered":"US Will Send Ukraine Another $250M in Weapons, Gear and Other Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patrick Tucker \u2013 Russia Insider June 17, 2020<\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n

The upcoming delivery will bring total counter-Russia aid to the Eastern European nation to $1.75 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pentagon will send weapons and other\u00a0<\/strong>military aid worth $250 million to Ukraine as part of the four-year-old Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or\u00a0USAI, defense officials announced\u00a0Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The aid includes counter-artillery radars, air surveillance systems, other tactical equipment, military medical treatment, cyber defenses, and \u201cstrategic communications,\u201d according to a Thursday\u00a0release\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/a>by<\/strong><\/span> the Pentagon. Intended to help Ukraine fight the Russia-backed forces that have occupied part of the country\u2019s eastern region since 2014, the aid aims to \u201cenhance Ukraine\u2019s defensive lethal capabilities and situational awareness in the maritime domain\u201d and \u201ccounter Russian cyber offensive operations and\u00a0misinformation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Past\u00a0U.S.\u00a0aid to Ukraine, which totals about\u00a0$1.5 billion<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, has included: Javelin anti-tank missiles, retired Coast Guard\u00a0cutters<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, unarmed drones,\u00a0Harris radios<\/strong><\/span>,<\/a>\u00a0armored Humvees, and communications equipment. The\u00a0U.S.\u00a0has also helped<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/a>to train Ukrainian special\u00a0forces.<\/span><\/p>\n

The release said the new aid re-affirms the \u201clong-standing defense relationship between the United States and Ukraine \u2013 a critical partner on the front line of strategic competition with Russia. The United States remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized\u00a0borders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, misuse of the\u00a0USAI\u00a0funds led to the impeachment of President Donald Trump. After the Office of Management and Budget withheld $214 million that Congress had appropriated through the initiative, Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart that the aid would be released only after certain key\u00a0\u201cfavors,<\/strong><\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/a>including announcing an investigation into the family of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Laura Cooper,\u00a0U.S.\u00a0defense undersecretary for Russia, Eurasia and Ukraine, testified that Ukraine had met various metrics for political reform and that the Defense Department supported the release of the aid. The Government Accountability Office\u00a0determined<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0that the hold was a violation of the federal Impoundment Control\u00a0Act.<\/span><\/p>\n