Assuring that the United States (US) was ready to provide "unprecedented" support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, President Joe Biden on Wednesday, 16 March, said that his country had set aside $1 billion in "new security help and deployment of longer-range weapons" for the war-torn nation, reported AFP.
The amount of $1 billion reportedly includes $200 million, which was allocated over the weekend and an $800 million aid package approved last week by the Congress.
In a virtual address with the members of the United States (US) Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had on Wednesday, 16 March, pleaded to close his country's skies.
Stating that "these are direct transfers of equipment from our Department of Defense to the Ukrainian military to help them as they fight against this invasion," Biden also announced that it would help Ukraine in acquiring "additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems."
Biden has, however, not said anything about imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine. NATO has consistently refrained from closing Ukraine's skies in fear of the fight escalating and becoming a direct conflict between Russia and itself.
The White House instead said it would ramp up the military assistance to Ukraine by providing an additional 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-tank weapons, 20 million rounds of ammunition, and 7,000 light weapons. Besides, 100 drones or tactical unmanned aerial systems will also be provided to Ukraine by the US.
Among the weapons that would be provided to Ukraine will be Soviet-made S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, Gregory Meeks, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
"These S-300s and longer-range artillery forces is what will help close the sky," Meeks told CNN, adding that President Zelenskyy was not asking for "American troops or American equipment to close the skies. What he's asking for is the artillery that will do that. The S-300 may be the one that does that."
(With inputs from AFP.)
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