“As further confirmation of our continued commitment to support Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Defense today announced an additional $2 billion in assistance to Ukraine under the Security Assistance Initiative. . The assistance program confirms continued U.S. support to Ukraine through the provision of additional unmanned aerial vehicles, drone detection and countermeasures, electronic warfare equipment, artillery munitions critical and precision weapons that will enhance Ukraine’s ability to repel Russian aggression. said General Pat Ryder.
Speaking of the lineup of supplies, Ryder emphasized that “it’s important not to look at (the current package) in isolation from the others. This is part of the wide range of options we have offered throughout the conflict. The fight against drones – like those from Iran – is essential, but it also gives the Ukrainians the ability to strike, conduct reconnaissance and reconnaissance. This is part of the modern way of waging war and so we will continue to support (Ukraine) in this regard.
“Iran is seeking to deepen its military cooperation with Russia for obvious reasons,” General Pat Ryder said. “Throughout this campaign, we are seeing a transactional interaction between Iran and Russia, as the latter needs ammunition and drones. We know that they were also interested in ballistic missiles. This says a lot about the measures Russia is forced to resort to, unable to fully rely on its own defense industry, losing suppliers and partners as a result of its actions. And Iran has a destabilizing influence not only in the Middle East: now it also exports terrorism to countries like Ukraine.
Responding to a question about the possible supply of Chinese weapons to Russia, General Ryder said:
“We don’t see China providing lethal assistance to Russia yet. But we see they haven’t taken that point out of the discussion. As you know, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the Secretary to Defense Lloyd Austin and others have warned China of the possible consequences of lethal aid to Russia.The peace plan China has just proposed includes a declaration of respect for the sovereignty of all countries. So hopefully they also respect Ukraine’s right to exist, rather than considering providing potential assistance to kill innocent Ukrainians and destroy their country. We will continue to watch this closely.”
General Pat Ryder did not give exact dates for the delivery of new detection and air defense systems to Ukraine, but stressed that “every opportunity will be used. I don’t have exact delivery dates, but we will continue to work closely with the industry to try to get them out as quickly as possible.”
“Together with the international community, we are already providing a significant amount of weapons to give (Ukraine) the capabilities it needs for the spring,” the Pentagon spokesman said. “But the fight will still be difficult. We therefore want to be sure that we meet not only short-term needs, but also medium and long-term ones. We will rush the deployment as quickly as possible.”
