Ukraine: US to Send Additional $1.7B as Russia Makes Further Gains

Facts

• The US will send Ukraine an additional $1.7B in military aid, American officials announced Monday.¹
• The package — which includes munitions for air defense systems, artillery, mortars and other missiles — will largely come from long-term contracts through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Roughly $200M of weaponry will go to Ukraine from existing Pentagon stockpiles.¹
• It comes as Ukraine has continued to suffer setbacks on the battlefield. Despite the nation using long-range weapons to strike oil depots in Russian territory, Moscow's forces have continued to advance in eastern Ukraine.²
• According to a Ukrainian army sergeant on Monday, Russian forces 'pressed non-stop' to capture Vovche and Prohres, two frontline villages in Donetsk. They lie 20 miles (30 km) northwest of Avdiivka, a Donetsk city that was in February captured by Russia after months of war.²
• A day prior, Russia's Defense Ministry said it captured two additional villages in the Donetsk region — Prohres and Yevhenivka. Both lie near Pokrovsk, a transport hub that Ukraine uses to supply other embattled Ukrainian-held parts of Donetsk, such as Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka.³
• Ukraine did not comment on the claims, but in the latest update from Ukraine's Armed Forces on Tuesday, the general staff continued to report that fighting near Pokrovsk had been the fiercest anywhere on the frontlines, with 52 combat clashes reported in the past day.⁴

Sources: ¹Associated Press (a), ²Associated Press (b), ³NBC and ⁴Ukrainska Pravda.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Associated Press. The latest US weapons package includes air defense munitions, rockets and other missiles that Ukraine will be able to use right away. These will continue to place Ukraine in the best circumstances to defend itself from Russian aggression.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. Even though US national debt reached a record $35T this week, America is continuing to waste away money on the misguided notion that Ukraine can somehow restore its 1991 borders on the battlefield. Politicians in Washington are making an embarrassing and expensive mistake with this latest announcement.

Predictions