Washington, March 27 : The United States is going to allocate an additional $100 million in security aid to Kiev amid Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “The United States intends to provide an additional $100 million in civilian security assistance to enhance the capacity of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs to provide essential border security, sustain civil law enforcement functions, and safeguard critical governmental infrastructure,” Blinken said in a Saturday statement. On Thursday, the White House said that the US would provide more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Kiev, as well as an additional $320 million to fund democracy and human rights programs in Ukraine and in the neighboring countries. Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden approved over $13.5 billion in humanitarian, economic and defense assistance for Ukraine. Blinken said on Saturday that the additional $100 million in civilian security assistance “will continue a steady flow of personal protection equipment, field gear, tactical equipment, medical supplies, armored vehicles, and communication equipment for the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service and the National Police of Ukraine.” The West scaled up military assistance to Kiev, as well as anti-Russia sanctions, after Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine in the early hours of February 24. The move came after the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Kiev forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted – the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
UNI
