Blinken announces $1 billion in new aid – DW – 09/07/2023

Russia has denounced a US plan to provide Ukraine with arms containing depleted uranium, calling it an “indicator of inhumanity.”

Washington announced a new aid package for Kyiv on Wednesday that included 120mm depleted uranium tank ammunition for Abrams tanks. 

“Clearly, with its idea of inflicting a ‘strategic defeat,’ Washington is prepared to fight not only to the last Ukrainian but also to do away with entire generations,” the Russian Embassy in Washington said in a statement on Telegram.

The decision to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium rounds could prove controversial, given health concerns about inhaling or swallowing particulates from explosions caused by such ammunition.

The reason the ammunition is used is the high density of the material, making it suitable both as armor and for piercing armor.

French President Emmanuel Macron said “the Russian flag cannot be at the Paris Olympic Games … at a time when Russia is committing war crimes.”

In an interview with sports daily L’Equipe, he said it would be up to the International Olympic Committee to decide whether Russian athletes will be allowed to compete as neutrals in the 2024 event.

“The real question that the Olympic world will have to decide is what place to give to these Russian athletes who sometimes have prepared for a lifetime, and can also be the victims of this regime,” he said.

“It is not the host state which must decide what the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should do.”

The IOC has so far recommended allowing athletes from Russia and Moscow ally Belarus to compete as individual neutrals in international competitions. But they have to meet certain conditions, including proving that they have not actively supported Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“There is no place for Russia as a country at a time when it has committed war crimes, when it has deported children,” said Macron.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine during a surprise two-day visit to the country on Wednesday.

Washington’s latest aid package to Kyiv is worth $1 billion (around €932 million). It includes up to $175 million in military assistance, involving 120mm depleted uranium tank ammunition for Abrams tanks. 

Britain has already sent uranium rounds to Ukraine, but this would be the first US shipment.

The package also includes $100 million in foreign military financing, $90.5 million for demining assistance, $300 million to support law enforcement in areas recaptured from Russia, $206 million in humanitarian aid, and $203 million for reform efforts and the investigation of war crimes.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Blinken that Washington’s support was “not charity,” saying: “Today, thanks to our partners, Ukraine is restraining Russia’s aggression.”

rmt/nm (AP, Reuters)