Ukraine says received new $1.5bn financial aid from US

Ukraine says it has received a further $1.5 billion in international financial assistance from the United States.

In a post on his Twitter account on Saturday, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal thanked Washington for the “grant.”

"The state budget of Ukraine received a grant of $1.5 billion. This is the last tranche of $4.5 billion aid from the United States from @WorldBank Trust Fund," he said.

The Ukrainian official said the money would be used to reimburse budget expenditure for pension payments and social assistance programs.

The administration of President Joe Biden recently approved a new $600-million weapons package for Ukraine despite Russia’s warnings that its military support only fuels the flames of war.

The package will include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), night-vision goggles, claymore mines, mine clearing equipment, 105mm artillery rounds, and 155mm precision-guided artillery rounds.

The US administration’s military aid has already reached around $15.8 billion since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “special military operation” in Ukraine in late February.

On Thursday, Russia warned if the United States and its allies supplied Ukraine with longer-range missiles, Washington would cross a “red line," and become “a party to the conflict."

SS