Biden Announces $2.98 Bln in New Military Aid for Kiev to Mark Nation's Independence Day

Ukraine has already received tens of billions in security and economic assistance from the US and its NATO allies over the past six months, with new aid announced regularly, notwithstanding recent reporting that as little as 30 percent of the military support actually reaches the front lines.

US President Joe Biden has announced nearly $3 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine, boasting that it is the "biggest" commitment yet.

"The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty. As part of that commitment, I am proud to announce our biggest tranche of security assistance to date: approximately $2.98 billion of weapons and equipment to be provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative," Biden was quoted as saying in a White House press release on Wednesday.

The new assistance will allow Kiev to get new air defense systems, artillery and munitions, anti-drone aerial systems, and radar, according to the president.

"I know this Independence Day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks. But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians' pride in themselves, in their country, and in their thirty-one years of independence. Today and every day, we stand with the Ukrainian people to proclaim that the darkness that drives autocracy is no match for the flame of liberty that lights the souls of free people everywhere," the release added.

US media reported on the new aid package on Tuesday, with the cash to pay for the weapons coming from the USAI funding mechanism.

Ukraine is marking its independence day on August 24, with the holiday commemorating the day that the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR declared independence from the Soviet Union, one day after the failure of a three-day attempt by Communist hardliners to seize power from Mikhail Gorbachev and prevent the breakup of the country in August 1991, better known in the West and among Russian liberal circles as a "coup attempt."

The $3 billion in military assistance is the latest NATO injection of cash into the Ukrainian crisis. Since the pro-Western coup d'etat in Kiev in 2014, Washington and its Canadian and European allies have sent tens of billions in military and financial support to the country, with the aid ramping up dramatically in February 2022, after Russia launched an operation to "demilitarize" and "de-Nazify" Ukraine and to preempt what Moscow has said were plans by Kiev to try to snuff out the fledgling Donbass republics.

The West's assistance to Ukraine has taken flak from multiple corners, with Russia expressing concerns that the guns, bullets, bombs, and advanced weapons systems entering the country would be stolen by arms traffickers and shipped abroad. Earlier this month, CBS News released and then curiously deleted a documentary which showed volunteers on the ground complaining that as little as 30 percent of the military assistance sent to Kiev was actually making it to the front. Also this month, Sputnik Arabic conducted an exclusive investigation, posing as a Yemeni arms buyer on the dark web and linking up with a Ukrainian black market arms dealer ready to send thousands of American-made M4 assault rifles to the war-torn Arabian nation via Poland and Portugal.

Inside the US, both non-mainstream conservatives and leftists have slammed the Biden administration over the weapons aid, with leftist pundits like Jimmy Dore pointing out that the cash being sent to Kiev could put a serious dent into poverty, homelessness, and other problems plaguing the US, while conservatives like Tucker Carlson have expressed concerns about the strategic implications of pumping vast quantities of weapons support to a country fighting a nuclear-armed neighbor.

Among US lawmakers, Trump Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has become the most outspoken voice in Congress in criticizing the billions that Washington has been prepared to shell out to Kiev.

In May, Greene complained while the latest Ukraine aid bill included $40 billion, there was "no baby formula for American mothers and babies. An unknown amount of money to the CIA in the Ukraine supplemental bill, but there's no formula for American babies and mothers. $54 million in Covid spending in Ukraine, but there's no formula for American babies and mothers. $900 million for nonprofits and organizations in Ukraine, but there's no formula for American babies and mothers. $8.7 billion for 'economic' support and funding in Ukraine, but there's no formula for American mothers and babies. If this is about claiming that it's about saving lives, then let's be real, then we would care about war-torn countries like Ethiopia. So that's a bunch of hypocrisy," she said.