WASHINGTON
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced major new military aid worth more than $2bn for Ukraine and other European countries “most potentially at risk for future Russian aggression”.
The money is on top of a $675m package of heavy weaponry, ammunition and armoured vehicles for Ukraine announced by defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday.
Russia ally Belarus has launched military exercises near its border with Poland. The drills will focus on “liberating territory temporarily seized by the enemy” and regaining control over border regions, the defence ministry said.
Norway has announced that it will give about 160 Hellfire missiles to Ukraine in addition to launching pads and guidance units.
Norwegian defence minister Bjorn Arild Gram said his country would also supply Ukraine with night vision equipment, adding that Kyiv had requested the weapons, AP reported.
In a meeting of 40 allied defence departments at the Ramstein base in Germany, the minister said, “This is the weapon that Ukraine asked for, and it will come in handy in the fight against Russian occupying forces.”
The Ukrainian military has said it has ha recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in the northeastern Kharkiv region as part of a counter-offensive against Moscow’s forces.
Ukrainian “military units have penetrated 50 kilometres (31 miles) beyond the enemy lines. During active operations in the Kharkiv area, more than 20 settlements have been liberated,” said Oleksiy Gromov, a senior official in the Ukrainian military.
