US Announces $425m In New Ukraine Security Aid

The United States stated Friday that it will deliver an additional $425 million in military aid to Ukraine, a day after claiming that thousands of North Korean troops were ready to fight Kyiv’s forces.

The assistance “will provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including: air defense interceptors; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; armored vehicles; and anti-tank weapons,” the Defense Department said in a statement.

The package, which will be drawn from US stocks, also includes air-to-ground munitions, medical equipment, demolition munitions and spare parts, the statement said.

“The United States will continue to work… to meet Ukraine’s urgently needed battlefield requirements and defend against Russian aggression,” it added.

The previous day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that of the 10,000 North Korean troops believed by the United States to have been sent to Russia, up to 8,000 have been deployed to the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

“We’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that to happen in the coming days,” Blinken told a news conference.

Ukrainian troops have been pursuing a ground offensive in Kursk since August, controlling several hundred square miles of Russian territory.

As the Ukraine war has progressed, Russia and North Korea have strengthened their political and military alliances; however, deploying Pyongyang’s troops into battle against Kyiv’s forces would be a dramatic escalation, raising international concerns.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the United States has been a primary military backer of Ukraine, committing more than $60 billion in arms, ammunition, and other security supplies.

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