On Sunday (June 13), the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed his gratitude after the G7 Group of Affluent Industrial Countries expressed support for Kiev and called on Russia to withdraw its troops and weapons from near the eastern border of Ukraine.
The leaders of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan reiterated their support for Ukraine and called on Moscow to stop destabilizing actions in a communiqu issued after the three-day summit in the United Kingdom.
“Praise #G7 countries for their unwavering support in the summit communiqué,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.
“Thank the leaders for continuing to support Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty, and call on the aggressors to withdraw their troops from the Ukrainian border and Crimea. #Crimea is Ukraine!”
Kiev hopes that pressure from Western allies will force Moscow to withdraw the tens of thousands of troops deployed in April near the eastern border of Ukraine and Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014.
The West expressed concern about the deterioration of the situation in the eastern Donbass region, where Ukrainian troops fought with Russian-backed troops. Kiev said that since 2014, this conflict has caused 14,000 deaths.
U.S. aid
The Pentagon announced on Friday a new package of US$150 million in military assistance for Ukraine, which will include anti-artillery radar, electronic warfare equipment and anti-UAV technology to support Kiev as tensions with Moscow increase.
Although Congress has pledged funds, the Department of Defense announcement details how the US military will allocate aid dedicated to Ukraine before the end of the US government’s fiscal year in September.
In addition to the $125 million aid announced by the Pentagon on March 1, the latest aid will also be provided, including armed Mark VI patrol boats.
In recent months, after the two countries exchanged responsibility for the surge in the fighting in Donbass, Ukraine, tensions have erupted again, and Russia has assembled troops on its border with Ukraine and Crimea in its so-called defensive exercises.
US President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday that he will defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity before Biden’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16.
The Pentagon stated that US security assistance includes “improving the lethality, command and control, and situational awareness of Ukrainian forces.”
It will provide anti-artillery radar, anti-UAV systems, security communications equipment, electronic warfare and military medical evacuation equipment.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrei Taran said in a statement on Saturday that the decision to provide the second part of the security plan was “timely and reasonable.”
Taran added that the country received nearly $2.5 billion in defense assistance from Washington between 2014 and 2021, “thanks to our American friends for the tremendous diplomatic, political, and financial support.”
The US assistance was provided in accordance with the requirements of US law after the Pentagon proved that Ukraine “has made sufficient progress in national defense reform this year.”
During his tenure as President of the United States, Donald Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House of Representatives because it accused him of using US aid as a bargaining chip to try to force Kiev to discredit Biden before the 2020 presidential election. The Republican-led Senate later acquitted Trump.
