Wednesday 15 June 2022 06:34 PM Biden announces another $1 billion in military aid for Ukraine, with rockets ... trends now
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced he was sending another one billion dollars in military support to Ukraine, after its leaders pleaded for more ammunition to help fight off the Russian invasion.
The latest package will include anti-ship missile systems, artillery rockets, and rounds for howitzers, people familiar with the packages said.
It means the U.S. has now delivered more than $5.5 billion of military support since Russia invaded more than 110 days ago.
It comes after the war entered a new phase, with Ukrainian officers warning they were struggling to match Russia shell for shell in a long-range war of rocket strikes and artillery battles.
'I informed President Zelensky that the United States is providing another $1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems that the Ukrainians need to support their defensive operations in the Donbas,' he said in a statement.
Officials told Reuters it was made up of $350 million of arms transfers, including more rockets for Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) already sent to Ukraine plus rounds for M777 howitzers.
A second package, paid for by the congressional Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, could include ground based Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher capabilities, secure radios, night vision and training.
President Joe Biden spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodomyr Zelensky for 41 minutes on Wednesday morning. Afterwards, Biden announced another $1 billion in military aid
The latest package includes more artillery for US-supplied howitzers, like the 155mm turreted self-propelled M109 seen here being driven by Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk region
The war has become a series of long-range rocket and artillery exchanges, but Ukrainian officers warn they have far fewer shells than Russia
The White House said the two presidents spoke for 41 minutes on Wednesday morning.
'We also remain committed to supporting the Ukrainian people whose lives have been ripped apart by this war,' said Biden
'Today, I am also announcing an additional $225 million in humanitarian assistance to help people inside Ukraine, including by supplying safe drinking water, critical medical supplies and health care, food, shelter, and cash for families to purchase essential items.'
Western officials say the war has reached a critical stage that could determine the eventual outcome
Russia refocused its efforts in eastern Ukraine after its invading forces were pushed back from the capital Kyiv.
Moscow has amassed a significant artillery advantage around key cities in eastern Ukraine.
In particular, Ukrainian forces are under immense pressure in the Luhansk region of Donbas, leading a senior American official to warn that Russia could take control within weeks.
This week Emmanuel Macron told Ukraine to negotiate with Vladimir Putin in order to bring about an end to the war.
Ukrainian artillerymen prepare to fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher near Izyum, south of Kharkiv, on June 11, 2022 amid Russian invasion of Ukraine
The fighting in Ukraine has been relentless since late February when Putin's army advanced. Above, conflict on February 27 in Kharkiv, where the two US fighters were captured this week
Putin's icy grip on Arctic 'battleground of the future': West urged to 'wake up' to Russian threat as Moscow builds new military bases, races to extract natural resources worth $30trillion and exploit new shipping routes with China's help
ByChris Pleasance for MailOnline
The West has been told to 'wake up' to Russia's growing plot to weaponise and monetise the Arctic, turning the once pristine and peaceful polar region into the 'battleground of the future.'
For years Vladimir Putin has been building airbases, missile launch pads, radar stations and naval yards north of the Artic Circle - but the region is now set to take on renewed importance after Russia was hammered by Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, which also trashed its reputation as Europe's second-most powerful army.
The High North is perhaps the one region where Russia can now lay claim to being the military superpower, a new report from the Civitas think-tank argues, a fact the Kremlin is likely to exploit as it seeks to plunder an estimated $30trillion of natural resources from the frozen earth and open up new trading routes exposed by melting sea ice.
Putin, cash-strapped due to sanctions, is almost certain to lean on China for money to achieve his vision - offering Beijing a back-door into a region it has long plotted to control but where it has no territorial claim. Sitting together atop the world, the pair could menace the West across three continents and in its two largest oceans.
The UK is now being urged to reach out to allies with rival claims to the region - the US, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Iceland - to form a new CAUKUS alliance similar to the AUKUS deal with Australia, deploying military might including nuclear submarines into the Article Circle as a show of strength to both Beijing and Moscow.
Rob Clark, a soldier-turned-military expert who authored the report, said: 'We need to wake up to the threat posed by Russian expansion in the Arctic – while all eyes are on Ukraine, Russia is testing new-age nuclear subs and hypersonic missiles in the Arctic and building up its presence in
