The US Capitol building. Photo courtesy of Pixabay/Art Bromage.
This article was originally published April 22, 2021, by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has unanimously advanced a bill to deliver military assistance to Ukraine, including lethal weapons, to help the Eastern European country counter Russian aggression.
The Ukraine Security Partnership Act would provide Ukraine with up to $300 million per year in military assistance until 2026, $150 million of which is subject to conditions. It needs to be passed by both the House and Senate and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.
Kyiv is asking the West for more support amid a Russian military buildup near Ukraine’s border and in occupied Crimea.
The United States and NATO say the Russian troop movements there are the largest since 2014, when Moscow illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and backed separatists holding parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people.
“As [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continues to escalate the situation along the border with Ukraine, we are speaking with one voice in reaffirming our steadfast support to the people of Ukraine and our commitment to protect our national security interests and our closest partners,” Senator Bob Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
“Ukrainians have a right to choose their own future, and this bill contributes to that by supporting Western-style military reforms, lethal and nonlethal military equipment to defend itself from Russia, and U.S. diplomatic support for peace negotiations,” Senator Jim Risch, the ranking Republican member of the committee, said.
The bill also requires the president to report to Congress on whether 20 companies and ships helping to build the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline are eligible for sanctions.
The United States opposes the almost-complete pipeline, which would bring gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream 2 threatens to circumvent Ukraine and deprive the country of billions of dollars in gas transit fees.
Copyright (c)2021 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Coffee or Die is Black Rifle Coffee Company’s online lifestyle magazine. Launched in June 2018, the magazine covers a variety of topics that generally focus on the people, places, or things that are interesting, entertaining, or informative to America’s coffee drinkers — often going to dangerous or austere locations to report those stories.
Fort Bragg shed its Confederate namesake Friday to become Fort Liberty in a ceremony some veterans s...
It’s less than two weeks until Father’s Day, and last-minute gifts for Dad are harder to come by tha...
The Air Force announced the permanent location for many more U.S. Space Force units Wednesday — and ...
Who exactly was Gen. Curtis LeMay? And how did he become the commander who razed more than 60 Japanese cities during World War II?
President Joe Biden has nominated a highly decorated Marine officer who has been involved in the transformation of the force to be the next Marine Corps commandant.
When the USS Arizona sank, it took 1,177 crew members with it. Today it remains beneath the water as a memorial to all those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor.
A pair of U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew low over Sarajevo and several other Bosnian cities...
Lockheed Martin’s SR-71 Blackbird was a government secret for years. Now retired, a newer version plans to take its place.