(ProsperNews.net) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed plans that include ten years of financial support from the United States. In a recent statement, Zelenskyy described meeting with Democratic Minority House Leader Hakeem Jeffries and thanking him for his support in passing the recent $95 billion aid bill, including $61 billion for Ukraine. He also told Jeffries of his country’s dire need for “Patriot systems.”
Patriot systems are air defense systems that intercept and destroy missiles and drones. Ukraine currently has three – one from the United States and two from Germany. Nevertheless, Zelenskyy recently claimed his troops were unable to defend the country from targeted Russian strikes aimed at Ukrainian energy infrastructure, and called on the international community to provide more assistance. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that Patriot systems will be included in new aid packages.
Zelenskyy’s latest statement described a new “bilateral security agreement” that will tie the US to “specific foundations of our security and cooperation for this year and for the next ten years.”
In a Department of Defense statement, Secretary Austin provided a list of equipment and arms that the US will provide to “meet Ukraine’s urgent requirements,” including RIM-7 and AIM-9M missiles for air defense, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and additional rounds of small arms ammunition, including .50 caliber rounds to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).
Meanwhile, surveys show that most Republican voters do not want America to send any more military equipment to Kyiv. In a CBS poll in April, 61% objected to further support, while 112 GOP lawmakers voted against the aid package in the House of Representatives. Having initially hesitated to bring the legislation to the House floor, Speaker Mike Johnson said he changed his mind after seeing intelligence which convinced him that Russia, Iran, and China form “an axis of evil” that the United States must confront.
Johnson called on his Congressional colleagues to examine their conscience, saying history would judge them.
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