This past Monday, an announcement from U.S. officials indicated the plan to send out an additional $350 million in ammunition, weapons, and military vehicles to Ukraine as Xi Jinping, the President of China, elects to meet up with Russian President Vladimir Putin for what the pair is calling peace talks while in Moscow this week.
In the wake of the U.S. announcing its most recent batch of supplies earmarked for Ukraine to bolster their ongoing fight against Russia, a warning was issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that “the world should not be fooled” by the peace talks being carried out between Xi and Putin. Blinken made the claim that Russia and China’s plan is to “freeze” all territorial gains made by Russia since its invasion kicked off just about a year ago.
“The fundamental element of any plan for ending the war in Ukraine and producing a just and durable peace must be upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” stated Blinken, as reported by Bloomberg.
Xi first made his way to Moscow on Monday morning for what he called a “mission of peace” signaling that China-Russia relations have been building as the West lines up to stand against Putin in his invasion of Ukraine. The comments from Blinken echo statements issued by another Biden administration official this past week concerning the peace talks between Russia and China.
“While that sounds perfectly reasonable and it sounds like a good thing, a ceasefire right now would basically ratify Russia’s conquest,” explained John Kirby, the spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council. “Russia would basically be free to use that ceasefire to further entrench its positions in Ukraine, to rebuild their forces, refit them, re-man them, retrain them so that they can then restart attacks at a time of their choosing.
At this point, the Biden administration has sent over a total of about $50 billion in military aid to Ukraine, which includes a highly advanced long-range missile system and a total of 31 Abrams tanks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stepped up to sound the call for the U.S. and its allies to give Ukraine donations of fighter jets, but so far, the Biden administration has refused. Blinken, however, promised unwavering support from America to Ukraine on Monday, claiming that Russia “could end this war today,” but until it does, “we will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
As explained in the announcement made Monday, additional munitions are being sent to Ukraine from the U.S. including:
- Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
- 155mm artillery rounds;
- 25mm ammunition;
- High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
- 81mm and 60mm mortar systems and mortar rounds;
- AT-4 anti-armor weapon systems;
- Grenade launchers, small arms, and associated ammunition;
- Demolition munitions and equipment for obstacle clearing;
- Mine clearing equipment;
- Heavy fuel tankers;
- Thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders;
- Riverine patrol boats;
- Testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair;
- Spare parts and other field equipment.
