Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 28-The U.S. Department of Defense announced on the 27th that it has added a new batch of military aid to Ukraine, worth 500 million U.S. dollars. On the same day, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against four enterprises and one individual on the grounds that the targets of sanctions were related to the Russian private military entity Wagner.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky expressed his "heartfelt thanks" to the US government through social media on the 27th. In the face of the United States’ continued "arch fire", the Russian side responded that the United States only wanted to cause Russian strategic failure and despised Ukrainian lives.
On February 2, 2022, in Washington, DC, US Secretary of Defense Austin was preparing to attend a hearing in Congress. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Shen Ting)
Continue to "arch fire"
According to the statement of the U.S. Department of Defense, the latest batch of military aid to Ukraine includes not only ground vehicles such as Bradley tracked infantry fighting vehicles and stryker armored vehicles, but also a large amount of ammunition for weapons such as Haima highly mobile rocket launcher system.
The statement said that the United States hopes to support the "key capabilities" of Ukraine’s counter-offensive operations through military assistance and help Ukraine strengthen its air defense capabilities.
According to Reuters, this is the 41st batch of military aid approved by the US to Ukraine since the Ukrainian crisis escalated in February last year. At present, the total value of US military assistance to Ukraine exceeds 40 billion US dollars.
On February 19th, in Washington, D.C., a protester took part in a rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie photo
More and more Americans are opposed to using a large amount of money to support overseas parties to the conflict, such as the Ukrainian crisis, and Russia has repeatedly criticized the western countries led by the United States for "fueling the fire" in the Ukrainian crisis.
After the US Department of Defense announced on the 27th that it would provide additional military aid to Ukraine, the Russian Embassy in the United States voiced its voice on social media, criticizing this decision can only prove that the US side is obsessed with the idea of letting Russia’s strategy fail. "For the US authorities, the life of Ukrainians is meaningless."
The Russian Embassy also stressed that the US attempt to defeat Russia with the help of Uzbekistan was "futile".
On June 24, the duty officer was on guard near the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. Xinhua News Agency reporter Bai Xueyu photo
Additional sanctions
On the 27th, the U.S. Treasury Department also announced that it would impose sanctions on four enterprises and one individual in three countries, on the grounds that the above-mentioned targets were related to Wagner organization and its founder yevgeny Prigozhin.
The targets of sanctions came from the Central African Republic, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. The United States claimed that the sanctioned party was engaged in illegal gold trading and provided funds for the Wagner organization to maintain and expand its armed forces.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that it will continue to "target" Wagner’s income sources to weaken the organization’s "expansion" in Africa and Ukraine.
This is the blocked Wagner headquarters building filmed in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 24. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Mo Jingna)
The US government has previously imposed sanctions on Wagner and Prigozhin. As of the 27th, Russia and Wagner Organization have not yet responded to the latest US sanctions.
The State Council stressed earlier on the 27th that the latest sanctions imposed by the US had nothing to do with the Wagner incident.
The Wagner organization was suspected of inciting rebellion late at night on the 23rd, which caused tension in Russia. On 24th, the Russian Federal Security Service announced that it had filed a criminal case against Prigozhin and implemented "anti-terrorism" measures in Moscow and other places.
On June 24th, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, local residents stood beside armored vehicles (video screenshot). Xinhua News Agency (photo by Vladimir)
That night, Prigozhin accepted the suggestion of Belarusian President alexander lukashenko, and Wagner members stopped marching in Russia and returned to the field camp. On the 24th night, they completely left the area where the headquarters of the southern Russian military region was located.
On the 27th, the Russian Federal Security Service announced that the criminal case against Prigozhin had been revoked.
Lukashenko said on the 27th that Prigozhin is currently in Belarus, and "we have provided security for Prigozhin". However, Lukashenko did not disclose the details of Prigozhin’s arrival in Belarus. (Zheng Yuning)