The United States announced more than $700 million in new aid to Ukraine, including support for the country’s energy sector, as Russia targets its infrastructure. The package also includes assistance for humanitarian efforts and demining work.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy made a rare joint visit to Kyiv ahead of Friday’s bilateral meeting at the White House between U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss continued support for Ukraine.

In Kyiv, Blinken announced $325 million to help repair Ukraine’s energy and electric grid amid ongoing Russian attacks, along with nearly $290 million in humanitarian aid for essential services such as safe drinking water, food, shelter and medicine. Additionally, he unveiled $102 million for demining efforts to remove landmines and unexploded ordnance left by Russian forces across Ukraine.

“Support for Ukraine will endure because it doesn’t depend on any one country, any one party, any one election,” Blinken told reporters at a joint press conference with Lammy and Ukraine’s new foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha.

“We’ve seen Russia now pursue and indeed escalate its attacks inside Ukraine, on civilians, on energy infrastructure, as well as on the Ukrainian military that’s defending its country,” Blinken said.

“Today, I can confirm more than £600 million worth of support for Ukraine, including £242 million this financial year for immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilization needs, as well as support for reform, recovery and reconstruction. Plus, we’re confirming our intention to deploy $484 million worth of World Bank loan guarantees later this year,” said Lammy, the British foreign minister.

He added that the United Kingdom is speeding up military deliveries with air defense missiles, additional artillery ammunition and more armored vehicles to Ukraine by the end of this year.

Concerns about escalation have so far limited Kyiv’s use of Western long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called for “strong decisions” and reiterated his request for permission to use long-range missiles against Russia.

Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, speaking through a translator, said that his country needs “a firm answer” from allies to counter Russia’s provocations and escalations. He cited the increasing Russian attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear power stations and targets near the border with NATO members.

U.S. and British officials suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin has already escalated the war on Ukraine by seeking ballistic missiles from Iran.

Drone warfare

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s military said it shot down 20 of 25 drones that Russian forces used in overnight attacks targeting multiple Ukrainian regions.

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kyiv, Poltava, and Sumy regions, Ukraine’s air force said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

Russia’s defense ministry said it shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod region.

Officials in Belgorod also reported a freight train derailment that happened after “the intervention of non-authorized people.” The local office of Russia’s national rail operator said in a statement that 11 empty carriages and a locomotive derailed.

The latest fighting came as Blinken and Lammy traveled Wednesday to Ukraine for talks with senior officials.

“I think it’s a critical moment for Ukraine in the midst of what is an intense fall fighting season, with Russia continuing to escalate its aggression,” Blinken said Tuesday.

A change in restrictions?

U.S. President Joe Biden indicated Tuesday that the United States may be moving to lift its restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons in its war with Russia.

The U.S. steadfastly has been unwilling to supply or sanction Ukraine’s use of U.S.-supplied weapons that could strike deep into Russia, for fear of escalating the conflict.

Some of Ukraine’s allies have supplied Kyiv with such weapons, but the countries supplying the weapons have imposed restrictions on how and when the weapons can be used.

In response to a question Tuesday about whether the U.S. would lift restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons against Russia, Biden said his administration is “working that out now.”

Earlier Tuesday, Blinken also indicated in an interview with Sky News that there could be a U.S. shift in its stance on allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles in Russia.

“We never rule out. But when we rule in, we want to make sure it’s done in such a way that it can advance what the Ukrainians are trying to achieve,” Blinken said.

Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

Source: voanews.com