By John Ikani
Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov said on Sunday that the country had received a second consignment of weapons from the United States as part of defensive aid totaling $200 million.
“The second bird in Kyiv! More than 80 tons of weapons to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities from our friends in the USA! And this is not the end,” Reznikov said in a tweet.
https://twitter.com/oleksiireznikov/status/1485322906674544640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The first shipment of security assistance from the US had arrived in Ukraine on Friday. That shipment included “close to 200,000 pounds of lethal aid, including ammunition for the front line defenders of Ukraine,” the US Embassy in Kyiv tweeted Friday night.
The shipments come as the US has sought to convince Moscow to de-escalate the situation at the Ukrainian border, where Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops.
Washington has said it would continue to support Ukraine amid concerns in Kyiv and among its Western allies over tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed on its border. Russia denies planning a military offensive.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have pressed the Biden administration to quickly send additional military aid to Ukraine.
“We need to be an integral part of doing more than has already been announced, and we need to make sure that if Vladimir Putin takes this step and makes this mistake … it will be a mistake that he will long regret and long remember,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told reporters during a GOP press conference Wednesday.
The British Government on Sunday also accused Russia of hatching a plot to overthrow the Ukrainian Government in Kyiv and install a pro-Russian puppet regime.
In recent weeks, Spain, France, Estonia and the United Kingdom, among others, have provided varying kinds of military support to Ukraine in anticipation of Russian aggression.
Meanwhile the US State Department will begin evacuating families and non-essential staff from the US Embassy in Ukraine this week as a possible Russian invasion looms.
According to a travel advisory released on Sunday evening, the US move underscores its fears that a Russian invasion could destabilise Ukraine and threaten embassy’s ability to assist Americans.
The State Department said it was authorising the “voluntary departure of US direct hire employees and ordered the departure of eligible family members from Embassy Kyiv due to the continued threat of Russian military action.”
“U.S. citizens in Ukraine should consider departing now using commercial or other privately available transportation options,” it added.
