US Assistance to Kiev Should Help Ukraine 'Meet Armoured, Airborne' Threats, Blinken Says
05:20 GMT 13.03.2022 (Updated: 06:56 GMT 13.03.2022)
© AP Photo / Efrem LukatskyUkrainian soldier armed with US Javelin ride along Khreshchatyk Street, during a military parade to celebrate Independence Day in Kiev, Ukraine. File photo
![Ukrainian soldier armed with US Javelin ride along Khreshchatyk Street, during a military parade to celebrate Independence Day in Kiev, Ukraine. File photo Ukrainian soldier armed with US Javelin ride along Khreshchatyk Street, during a military parade to celebrate Independence Day in Kiev, Ukraine. File photo - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.03.2022](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107824/95/1078249512_0:115:2808:1695_1920x0_80_0_0_e2c7b03617074a34c702024c6d24e313.jpg)
© AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington's latest support for Kiev, authorised by US President Joe Biden on Saturday, will help Ukrainian troops counter both armoured and airborne threats.
"Exercising the additional authority provided in the extension of the continuing resolution, I have immediately authorised today, pursuant to a delegation by the President, a fourth Presidential Drawdown of up to $200 million for additional military assistance for Ukraine's defense. This package will include further defensive assistance to help Ukraine meet the armored, airborne, and other threats it is facing", Blinken said in a Saturday statement.
According to the release, the total security assistance provided by the Biden administration to Kiev now stands at more than $1.2 billion.
In the early hours of 24 February, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against Kiev's forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted.
© REUTERS / INTS KALNINSU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens during a news conference with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Latvia March 7, 2022.
![U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens during a news conference with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Latvia March 7, 2022. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens during a news conference with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Latvia March 7, 2022. - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.03.2022](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/03/08/1093671742_0:0:3065:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_c28002b592ccc88055f504ae217f494a.jpg)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens during a news conference with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Latvia March 7, 2022.
© REUTERS / INTS KALNINS
Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the goal is to protect the people of Donbass, "who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years".
In response to Russia's operation, nations have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions.
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