US senators promise to continue providing support to Kyiv government
“We will continue to provide support [to the Kyiv government] by imposing sanctions against Russia,” Cardin said.
Portman said that they’ve met with appointed by Rada prime minister of Ukraine Arseny Yatsenyuk to discuss further cooperation between Kyiv and Washington, including the military partnership. Senator said that he’ll discuss the matter further with his colleagues when he returns to the US.
Portman believes that the US must provide more military assistance to Ukraine and help its military defend the country. “This topic was discussed with the foreign minister and the prime minister,” he said when asked about the US willingness to provide military equipment and hardware to Ukraine.
“I believe that the US must help train the Ukrainian military, like we already do, to an extent. Also, we could provide small arms, as wells as anti-tank and anti-air weaponry, to help Ukrainian military defend itself. I believe that this is important, and I would endorse the legislation that would allow the US to do so,” said Portman during the briefing.
Earlier it was declared that the US would provide additional $7 billion of aid to the Ukrainian border guard to help ensure the security of the border. The border guard also reports that the US already began supplying them with equipment, including binoculars, car batteries, fuel pumps, barbed wire and various spare parts. Also the US provided the Ukrainian military with 300,000 MRE packs, for units conducting combat operations away from the main force.