WASHINGTON — The White House introduced on Monday that the United States would ship one other $550 million in arms to Ukraine to assist it fend off Russian invaders, rising the entire American funding in conflict preventing there to greater than $8 billion for the reason that invasion started in February.
President Biden licensed the most recent package deal as the primary cargo ship of meals lastly left the Ukrainian port metropolis of Odesa after months of Russian blockade, in accordance with an settlement with Moscow. The White House known as on the Kremlin to proceed abiding by the pact with a view to ease a rising meals disaster around the globe.
“Russia has, of course, weaponized food,” mentioned John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council. “We urge Russia to meet its commitments under this new arrangement.”
Mr. Kirby mentioned that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken; Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Jake Sullivan, the nationwide safety adviser, had knowledgeable their Ukrainian counterparts concerning the new weapons shipments on Monday. Mr. Blinken mentioned in an announcement that he was authorizing a drawdown of arms and tools from Department of Defense inventories for Ukraine’s self-defense.