The Biden administration announced its largest military aid package to Ukraine on Wednesday, which coincides with the six-month anniversary since Russia invaded its neighboring country.
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The aid has a value of roughly $3 billion to train and equip Ukrainian forces. Wednesday is also Ukraine’s Independence Day, and Ukrainian officials have canceled certain celebratory events amid concerns that Russian forces could launch “particularly ugly” attacks.
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“The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty. As part of that commitment, I am proud to announce our biggest tranche of security assistance to date: approximately $2.98 billion of weapons and equipment to be provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Wednesday morning. “This will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term.”
This aid will come from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which means it won’t come from existing U.S. stockpiles, and will include Western air defense capabilities, a large quantity of ammunition, additional trainings, and maintenance. Last week, the administration announced a set of aid worth $775 million.
“I know this independence day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” the president continued. “But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians’ pride in themselves, in their country, and in their thirty-one years of independence.”
The capital, Kyiv, and the second largest city, Kharkiv, have banned Independence Day events amid the threat of “something particularly vicious,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
“One of the key tasks of the enemy is to humiliate us, Ukrainians, to devalue our capabilities, our heroes, to spread despair, fear, to spread conflicts. … Therefore, it is important never, for a single moment, to give in to this enemy pressure, not to wind oneself up, not to show weakness,” he said.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, said Sunday that “the date of our independence and the anniversary of the invasion, half a year, coincide — it is the 24th. And there’s Ukrainian flag day on the 23rd. We are ready for the fact that there will be an increase in some kind of aggression. There will be an increase in missile attacks.”
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Six months into the war, Russia has failed to accomplish most of its original goals and has been forced to refocus its offensive on specific areas of eastern Ukraine.
“I would say that you are seeing a complete and total lack of progress by the Russians on the battlefield,” a senior defense official told reporters on Friday. “In that sense, we are at a different phase than where we were even a couple of months ago.”
