Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Highlights
- US Secretary of State announced that US will provide an additional $350M military aid to Ukraine.
- "Package will include lethal defensive assistance to help Ukraine address threats it is now facing"
- Ukrainian President earlier turned down U.S.'s offer to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of U.S. govt.
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Friday announced that the US will provide an additional $350 million in immediate military assistance to Ukraine to help defend itself from Russia’s 'unprovoked and unjustified war'.
"This package will include further lethal defensive assistance to help Ukraine address the armored, airborne, and other threats it is now facing," news agency AFP reported, quoting Blinken.
The announcement comes hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had turned down the U.S.'s offer to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government.
Zelenskyy said in response: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described Zelenskyy as upbeat.
Invading Russian forces closed in on Ukraine’s capital on Saturday, in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country.
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