US, allies step up military support to Kyiv amid counteroffensive
Berlin, Sep 8 (EFE).- The United States and its Nato allies are determined to boost military support for Ukraine, as an offensive launched by Kyiv has placed Russia under “intense” pressure and was making “steady progress”.
Washington has decided to allocate a further $675 million to Ukraine, said defense secretary Lloyd Austin, host of the meeting of the so-called Contact Group with representatives from 50 countries, at the Ramstein air base in Germany.
“We are addressing new and innovative ways to support Ukraine,” he said at the end of the sessions held at the largest US base outside its territory, which was also attended by Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Defense Secretary Oleksii Reznikov.
The Himar missiles supplied by the United States “have hit 400 Russian targets”, said the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley.
The Ukrainian troops are not “saturated” or at the edge of their capabilities with the counteroffensive launched to reconquer territory in the south and east, but they are in a “delicate” moment in which allied support is needed, the military officer added.
The meeting in Ramstein, the second meeting of the Contact Group in support of Ukraine since April, was marked by Austin’s initial announcement at the opening of the talks of this new $675 million package.
It is the 20th aid package for Ukraine to be approved by president Joe Biden’s Administration, Austin said, and will include armored vehicles, artillery ammunition, missiles and bazookas.
The US defense secretary thanked his European allies for their support to Ukraine, especially Germany, the EU’s main contributor of military and financial aid to Kyiv.
The solidarity with Ukraine displayed at Ramstein follows a proposal unveiled the day before by the European Commission to provide an additional 5 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, with which Brussels hopes to address the most urgent needs arising from the Russian invasion, such as maintaining critical state functions.
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