Translated material
US Senate approved military assistance to Ukraine
The US Senate adopted amendments to the military budget, providing for the provision of military assistance to Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, the document involves the supply of weapons to Ukraine, including anti -tank weapons, for a total of $ 300 million. 71 senator voted for amendments, against - 25.
The amendments will be signed for the president if, by the end of July, they can be agreed with the House of Representatives. Barack Obama is going to impose a veto on the bill if it is presented in the Senate version.
In addition to military assistance to Ukraine, the document provides for the modernization of the Navy, the support of the Afghan army, the suspension of the next stage of the closure of military bases. In addition, the bill greatly complicates the closure of a military prison in Guantanamo.
On June 8, the White House spokesman Josh Ernest said that Obama, as before, did not intend to supply additional offensive weapons to Ukraine. “The supply of additional weapons, according to the president, would only lead to a further escalation of the situation, which should be solved by diplomatic means,” the official explained.
Ernest added that Washington has already given Kyiv military assistance. This was emphasized by the press secretary of the White House, "reflects the depth of US obligations to Ukraine."
The Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, in turn, said that Washington refuses Kyiv to supply weapons due to the position of a number of European Union countries. “The White House must hold the alliance with all our European partners,” the head of the Cabinet of Ministers explained. “If one of the EU members, especially from the“ Big Seven ”, does not apply to the idea of supplying weapons to Ukraine, then this directly affects the decision of the White House.”
Yatsenyuk added that he would not want to clarify which states opposed the armament of Ukraine. “But I think,” he concluded, “that our Western partners sometimes underestimate the threats that come from the Russian Federation.”