U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Wednesday that Russia did not leave the Ukrainian capital Kyiv or its suburbs of its own accord; rather, it was pushed out by Ukrainians using defense systems provided by Washington. During a conversation with the ministry's Russian-language service on Telegram, he emphasized that the current focus is on ensuring that Ukraine is supplied with effective defensive systems that it can use now.
The U.S. minister added that his country is also considering providing Ukraine with "larger and more complex" systems. He noted a fundamental issue in the Security Council, which is the blatant violation of international peace and security rules by one of its permanent members due to its aggression against Ukraine, referring to Russia's military operation in Ukraine since late February. He also stated that it is essential to do everything possible to prevent this from happening again once the Russian operation concludes.
On Tuesday, Blinken announced that the United States would provide Ukraine with an additional $100 million in security assistance, including anti-armor systems. In his statement, Blinken said, "I have authorized, based on a mandate from the president received earlier today, the immediate release of security assistance totaling $100 million to meet Ukraine's urgent need for more anti-armor systems."
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also confirmed on Tuesday that drones would be sent to Ukraine shortly, noting that Washington is sending additional aid worth $1 billion. He added that the U.S. would send a different type of drone, the Switchblade, which has an anti-armor warhead, according to Reuters. According to AeroVironment, which manufactures the drones, the model 600 has an anti-armor warhead and can fly over the target for more than 40 minutes.
It is worth mentioning that the U.S. Department of Defense announced in a statement on Friday that it would allocate an additional $300 million in "security assistance" for Ukraine to enhance its defensive capabilities. The new assistance package includes laser-guided missile systems, kamikaze drones of the Switchblade model, in addition to lightweight Puma drones.
The United States had allocated $6.9 billion to help Ukraine confront the Russian attack and support NATO countries, according to a budget proposal released by the Biden administration last Monday. It is noted that Washington has increased its assistance to Ukraine following the Russian military operation, including providing $2 billion worth of new security aid and $1 billion in humanitarian aid announced by the White House last week.
