US to send $300m in military aid to Ukraine as Republicans continue to block $60bn funding package
The US will send around $300m in military aid to Ukraine as Republicans continue to block a $60bn funding package for Kyiv.
The aid package being provided will include anti-aircraft missiles, artillery rounds and armour systems, a senior US defence official has said.
It marks the US Department of Defense’s first announced security package for Ukraine since December.
It came as Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk used a joint visit to the White House on Tuesday to press Washington DC to break its impasse and release the $60bn (£47bn) of US support for Ukraine which is being blocked by Republicans.
The package would help to replenish funds for Ukraine during a critical moment in the war.
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Ukraine’s situation has become dire, with units on the frontline rationing munitions as they face a vastly better supplied Russian force.
CIA director William Burns told Congress that entire Ukrainian units have told him in recent days of being down to their last few dozen artillery shells.
The months without further shipments of US support have hurt operations, and Ukrainian troops withdrew from the eastern city of Avdiivka last month, where outnumbered defenders had withheld a Russian assault for four months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly implored US Congress for help, but House Republican leadership has not been willing to bring the $60bn Ukraine aid package to the floor for a vote, saying any aid must first address border security needs.
Senior defence officials have told reporters the US defence department has been able to get cost savings of roughly $300m (£235m) in earlier Ukraine contracts and, given the battlefield situation, decided to use those savings to go ahead and send more weapons.
The United States has committed more than $44.9bn (around £35bn) in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including more than $44.2bn (around £34.6bn) since the beginning of Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022.
The $300m funding was announced on Tuesday as Denmark said it would provide a military aid package for Ukraine worth around £263m.
It came as Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to his country’s state media where he said he would be ready to use nuclear weapons if his nation’s sovereignty was threatened.
The Russian president also said on Wednesday that Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO is “a meaningless step” and that Moscow will deploy troops and systems of destruction to the Finnish border after the country joins the alliance.
Mr Putin was speaking hours after a long-time aide of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who Western leaders say was murdered by the Kremlin, was attacked with a hammer in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
Lithuanian police are investigating the attack on Leonid Volkov as it remains unclear who carried it out.
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Meanwhile, Russia’s military said it had killed 234 fighters who crossed into the country from Ukraine.
An image released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows what it says is a destroyed tank of Ukraine-based armed groups that entered Russia. Pic: Reuters
The fighters had attempted to reach the Russian town of Tetkino, which lies close to the border, according to the governor of Russia’s Kursk region, Roman Starovoit.
Sky News has not independently verified the claims.
Ukraine-based military groups, allegedly made up of Russian partisans, had earlier said they had carried out an incursion across Russia’s western border.
Overnight, officials said Ukraine has launched a drone attack on several Russian regions for the second night in row, with more than 30 drones destroyed in the air over the Voronezh region.
Police officers stand in a front of an apartment building damaged by a Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih. Pic: Reuters
It came as three people were killed and at least 10 children were wounded after a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian president’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih.
Earlier on Tuesday a Russian military plane crashed in Russia’s Ivanovo region with 15 people on board.
Russia’s defence ministry has not released details of casualties.
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Russian military plane crashes after takeoff
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s security service (SBU) has claimed an alleged Russian agent serving in Ukraine’s army planned to kill commanders by poisoning their baths.
The SBU said military counterintelligence thwarted the attack against army commanders in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and detained a man who “turned out to be an active serviceman of the Ukrainian army”.
“To commit the crime, he planned to add a poisonous substance to the water of the bath and laundry complex, which was used by the command staff,” the SBU said.
Storm Shadow cruise missiles made in the UK and donated to Ukraine have once again been used to strike targets inside Russia.
The long-range weapons – which cost roughly £2m each – have been used to devastating effect in the Black Sea, sinking or damaging several Russian ships, and now against a chemical plant.
Last year, Ukraine’s allies lifted restrictions on Storm Shadows and other long-range missiles, meaning Kyiv’s military can use them against targets across the border.
Follow latest: Storm Shadow missiles used in ‘massive’ attack on Russia
A Storm Shadow missile system. Pic: Gary Dawson/Shutterstock
What are Storm Shadow missiles?
Storm Shadows are cruise missiles developed by the UK and France in the 1990s.
Launched from aircraft, they have a range more than 155 miles, manufacturer MBDA says, and can travel at speeds exceeding 600mph.
The missiles can be used with high precision for deep strikes while evading detection, the manufacturer says.
They have been used by the RAF and French air force and in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya, and more recently have been used by Ukrainian forces.
What sets them apart from some other projectiles is they use terrain mapping to navigate to their target, rather than relying just on GPS, military analyst Sean Bell says.
A Tornado GR4 with Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Pic: Crown copyright
How have they been used in Ukraine?
Back in May 2023, the UK government announced it would provide Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles – the first country to do so.
Since then they have been used by Kyiv’s defenders to strike Russian targets inside Ukraine and also inside Russia.
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While operational details of their use do not always emerge, it has been reported Storm Shadows have been used against targets including military headquarters and ships.
Storm Shadows can likely be operated entirely from within Ukraine, though probably with the assistance of intelligence gathered by Western surveillance planes over international waters.
A police officer has been injured after a night of violent protests outside an asylum hotel in Dublin – with six arrests made.
Bricks were thrown and fireworks were discharged outside the Citywest Hotel – with glass bottles used as missiles and a police van set on fire.
A Garda helicopter was also targeted with lasers, and the police service says some of those on the streets were seen carrying garden forks.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Commissioner Justin Kelly added: “This was obviously not a peaceful protest. The actions this evening can only be described as thuggery. This was a mob intent on violence.
“We will now begin the process of identifying those who committed crimes and we will bring those involved in this violence to justice.”
It is the second night of demonstrations after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.
Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back – and water cannon was deployed at the scene.
A line of officers was preventing the protesters from approaching the hotel.
Police officers block protesters outside the hotel. Pic: PA
‘Those involved will be brought to justice’
Ireland’s premier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, paid tribute to the officers who were on the frontline of the protests.
“There can be no justification for the vile abuse against them, or the attempted assaults and attacks on members of the force that will shock all right-thinking people,” he said.
Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said those involved in the violence will be brought to justice.
“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest must be condemned,” he said.
“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.
“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.
“Those involved will be brought to justice.”
‘No excuse’ for violence
The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.
He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.”
He said attacks on officers would “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.
“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed.”
The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.
It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.
A police van has been set on fire and missiles have been thrown at officers as protesters gathered outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Dublin.
It is the second night of demonstrations outside the Citywest Hotel after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.
A large crowd has gathered in the area and members of the Garda’s public order unit have been deployed.
Footage from the scene showed a Garda vehicle on fire as well as several protesters displaying Irish flags.
Many protesters carried Republic of Ireland flags
Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back.
A Garda helicopter hovered overhead and a water cannon was deployed on the scene.
Ireland’s justice minister, Jim O’Callaghan, said those involved will be brought to justice.
“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest tonight must be condemned,” he said.
“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.
“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.
“Those involved will be brought to justice.”
The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.
He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.
He said attacks on gardai will “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.
“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed tonight.”
It was the second night of protest outside the hotel, which is being used as state accommodation for people seeking international protection. The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.
It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.
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