Biden administration announces $125M military aid package for Ukraine
Source: NBC News/The Associated Press
Ukraine is locked in a costly struggle with Russia. Former President Trump was impeached for allegedly withholding aid to pressure the country to investigate the Bidens.
March 2, 2021, 7:42 AM EST
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday announced a $125 million military aid package for Ukraine, including two armed patrol boats to help the country defend its territorial waters.
The remaining $150 million in military aid approved by Congress for the 2021 budget year will not be provided until the departments of State and Defense are in position to certify to Congress that Ukraine has made “sufficient progress on key defense reforms this year,” the Pentagon said.
“The department encourages Ukraine to continue to enact reforms that strengthen civilian control of the military, promote increased transparency and accountability in defense industry and procurement, and modernize its defense sector in other key areas in line with NATO principles and standards,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Ukraine has been locked in a costly struggle with Russia, which annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and cast its support behind pro-Moscow insurgents in eastern Ukraine. The conflict, now in its seventh year, has killed more than 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine’s industrial heartland.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-administration-announces-125m-military-aid-package-ukraine-n1259254