United States President Joe Biden, has instructed Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to release up to $350million in immediate support to Ukraine’s security and defense.
This release comes after a 40-minute call between Biden and Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, earlier Friday during which they discussed “concrete defense assistance.”
According to a new memo released by the White House late Friday, this is the third drawdown of money sent from US to Ukraine recently.
Previous orders have been for $60million and $250million, putting the total over the last year at over a billion dollars, according to an administration official.
The State Department is expected to issue its own statement with more details shortly.
This news comes as residents in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, woke up to explosions and the sounds of war for the third morning as Russian troops attempt to take over the city.
Bomb blasts were reported inside the capital Saturday morning after days of heavy fighting on the outskirts as Russian troops advanced on the city.
Gunfire was also heard close to the city center as Russian troops face heavy resistance from Ukrainian soldiers and civilians defending their city.
In a national address on Friday night, Zelensky vowed that Ukrainians would stay and fight for their country, accusimg Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure.
A spokesperson for Zelensky said the President accepted a Russian proposal to hold negotiations and that he was ready to talk about peace and a ceasefire.
Also, on Friday, Russia, UN security council permanent member, vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the invasion of Ukraine.
China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained from voting.
After the vote, 50 countries issued a joint statement saying Russia abused its power in blocking the resolution.
