The Biden administration is preparing a $2 billion aid package to Ukraine, multiple outlets reported Thursday, amid renewed warnings Russia could be planning another military offensive timed around the one-year mark of the Kremlin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.
\nKEY FACTS
\nIt is not clear what exactly will be included in the security package, though sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg it builds on previous packages to aid Ukraine\u2019s defense.
\nWhite House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had told reporters earlier on Thursday that the administration is planning to announce a new aid package as well as a new round of sanctions against entities\u2014including banks and defense sectors\u2014aiding Russia\u2019s war effort.
\nUkrainian and U.S. officials have warned in recent weeks that Russia could be preparing a new offensive around the anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has struggled for months to make major gains in eastern and southern Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces have taken back some territory after repelling an offensive on the capital of Kyiv earlier in the war. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would suspend participation in a U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty called New START and deploy ground-based nuclear weapons into combat duty. Russian forces, meanwhile, have continued air strikes against Ukrainian communities and infrastructure, primarily in the eastern and southern regions of the country.
\nTANGENT
\nA new round of aid to Ukraine would also come days after Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv before calling on Putin to end the war and condemning Russia\u2019s military of committing \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d in a speech in Poland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unannounced visit to Washington late last year where he asked members of Congress for more military aid, saying: \u201cIs it enough? Honestly, not really.\u201d American aid to Ukraine has scaled up since the war began, with Ukraine receiving more powerful artillery equipment and longer-range rocket systems. In January, Biden also announced the U.S. will send 31 Abrams war tanks to Ukraine, an advanced tank that Ukrainian officials had been requesting. Putin, meanwhile, has attacked Western nations for sending aid to Ukraine, saying in his state of the union speech this week that \u201cit was they who unleashed the war\u201d and that Russia has been fighting to regain its \u201chistorical lands.\u201d
\nNEWS PEG
\nThe United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution on Thursday calling on Putin to withdraw Russian forces from Ukraine and for lasting peace in the eastern European country. Several countries that have avoided sanctions on Russia, including India, Iran and China\u2014which has reportedly sent aid to Russia\u2019s military\u2014abstained from the vote, which passed by a two-thirds majority.<\/p>\n
Forbes<\/p>\n
Tags\uff1bReportedly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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