US reinforces Kiev, Russia moves troops to Ukraine border
According to Reuters, on September 18, the US pledged an additional $53 million in aid to Kiev. Yahoo News reported that in response, Russia has mobilized thousands of troops close to the Ukrainian border.
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Military forces believed to be Russian in the Crimea peninsula on March 10.
According to Reuters, the new aid package will include $46 million to support Kiev in its fight against separatists in eastern Ukraine and $7 million in humanitarian aid.
The aid pledge came as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko visited Washington and met with US President Barack Obama and US lawmakers.
The aid package includes radar equipment to help locate artillery fire, increasing the response capacity of Ukrainian security forces. It also includes engineering equipment, patrol vehicles, personnel carriers, small marine applications, surveillance equipment and some explosive detection equipment, as well as body armor.
However, this aid package does not include lethal weapons as requested by some Republican lawmakers and at the request of Mr. Poroshenko.
Speaking before the US Congress on September 18, Mr. Poroshenko asked Washington to provide both lethal and non-lethal weapons to Kiev to “keep the peace” in the East. He said that non-lethal weapons such as bulletproof vests and helmets were still not enough.
He also called on NATO to provide special security assistance to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, according to Yahoo News, on the same day, Russia mobilized about 4,000 soldiers stationed in the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian border. This move is believed to be in response to Mr. Poroshenko's visit to the US.
Yahoo News quoted the spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Mr. Andriy Lysenko, as saying: "According to our information, almost all military units of the Russian Federation in the northern part of the Crimean peninsula... have been mobilized to the administrative border with Ukraine along with all equipment and ammunition."
Source Infonet
