The United States of America will send additional military aid to Ukraine worth $325 million, which includes a huge amount of artillery shells and ammunition, the Pentagon announced today, as reported by the Associated Press.
And the White House announced that military aid is about to be sent, but did not immediately announce its value, reports the Agence France-Presse.
The Associated Press indicates that all this is happening on the eve of the Ukrainian army's spring offensive against Russian troops.
The US did not specify how much munitions it planned to send, but the latest package is reminiscent of earlier shipments, which included missiles for HIMARS systems and howitzers, as well as various other missiles and anti-tank munitions.
All of this arsenal will be collected from Pentagon stockpiles, which means it will reach the front lines in Ukraine very quickly.
A Ukrainian official said Monday that it is only a matter of time before his country is militarily prepared to launch a counteroffensive against occupying Russian troops.
(BETA)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he visited the border with Belarus and Poland, where he praised the work of border guards.
"I am honored to be here today to thank our border guards for guarding the state border," Zelenski wrote under a video showing him meeting with border guards.
Germany has supplied Ukraine with the Patriot defense system to help protect itself from frequent Russian barrage missile attacks.
As Al Jazeera Balkans reports, the system is listed on a German government website that catalogs German arms shipments to Ukraine.
Patriot is one of the most advanced systems of its kind in the world. It can be used to combat enemy aircraft as well as ballistic and cruise missiles.
Germany and the United States of America (USA) have agreed to provide Ukraine with one of the systems that are key to countering Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Sources close to the German army told the dpa agency that Ukrainian soldiers were trained by Germany and the US at a location in a NATO member country, where joint exercises were held.
(MINE)
Forces supported by Russia in Ukraine's Donetsk region announced that two days ago, Ukrainian forces blew up four residential buildings in Bakhmut, killing 20 civilians, TASS reported, citing Reuters.
The inspection of ships continues in accordance with the UN-brokered agreement on the safe export of grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
He wrote on Facebook that "inspections of ships continue, despite attempts by the Russian Federation to derail the agreement," reports Reuters.
The Russian news agency RIA said that inspections have already resumed after two days of talks, citing the press service of the United Nations (UN) coordinator.
Kiev says Russian inspectors have stopped letting through ships that were supposed to deliver grain from Ukraine.
Agriculture Minister Nikola Solski said that Moscow is making it difficult for Ukraine at a time when three Eastern European countries have banned the import of Ukrainian grain and food products.
"Obviously, the Russians could not take advantage of this situation on the western (Ukrainian) border," Solski told reporters.
Russia has accused Ukraine of sabotaging a Black Sea grain deal by demanding bribes from shipowners who register new vessels and carry out inspections under the auspices of a deal the United Nations (UN) hopes could ease the global food crisis.
There was no comment on the allegations from the Russian Foreign Ministry in Ukraine, which blamed Moscow for problems with the agreement.
Moscow did not immediately provide evidence to support its claim, reports Reuters.
Russia and Ukraine say the deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey in July, is in danger of collapsing just as Poland, Hungary and Slovakia imposed bans on Ukrainian grain imports.
Russia has repeatedly warned it will not renew the deal after May 18 unless the West agrees to lift numerous restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance that it says hamper its own agricultural exports.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement that the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, which oversees the agreement, is experiencing difficulties with new vessel registration and inspections.
The problems arose "exclusively as a result of the actions of Ukrainian representatives, as well as UN representatives, who, apparently, do not want or cannot resist them," she said.
In the same statement, Zakharova accused Ukraine of "trying to use the 'Black Sea Initiative' as much as possible, not refraining from abusing rules of procedure or demanding bribes from ship owners. All for the sake of maximizing commercial profits."
Ship owners who refused to pay bribes to the Ukrainians were forced to wait more than a month while they awaited registration, she said.
The war in Ukraine entered the 419th day - you can see what happened in the east of Europe at the link below.
Related Articles
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
