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Ukraine war
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Ukrainian servicemen operate an M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine on Monday. Photo: Reuters

US to give Ukraine US$500 million in additional military aid, Pentagon announces

  • The package will include ground vehicles including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armoured personnel carriers, according to a statement from the Pentagon
  • US lets Moscow send plane to Washington to pick up Russian diplomats despite a ban on commercial flights; calls for reciprocal treatment
Ukraine war
Agencies
The United States will provide Kyiv with a new military package worth up to US$500 million, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, in a show of support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia as Moscow deals with the aftermath of a mutiny by mercenary fighters.

The package will include ground vehicles including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armoured personnel carriers, and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, according to a statement from the Pentagon.

The package “includes key capabilities to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive operations, strengthen its air defences … and other equipment to help Ukraine push back on Russia’s war of aggression,” the Pentagon said.

The package is being funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, which authorises the president to transfer articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. The material will come from US excess inventory.

The security package is the 41st approved by the United States for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, for a total of more than US$40 billion.

Meanwhile, the United States said on Tuesday it allowed Moscow to send a plane to Washington to pick up diplomats despite a ban on commercial flights and called for reciprocal treatment.

“The US government allowed the Russian government to send a charter flight to the United States to transport to Russia those Russian diplomats whose assignments have ended,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

05:43

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Miller said he had no details on the number of diplomats involved and said that the United States wanted “strict reciprocity” from Russia.

“In exchange for granting these courtesies, we expect Russia to maintain open transport for our diplomats and cargo to our embassy in Moscow,” he said.

The US banned all Russian aircraft from its airspace, and US carriers do not fly over Russia, as part of measures taken to pressure Moscow over its invasion.

The United States has had only limited high-level diplomatic contact with Russia during the war, in part to arrange the release of detained Americans.

Reporting by Reuters, Agence France-Presse

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