Yelchenko: Ukraine will start to receive U.S. military assistance in February
"The allocation of assistance will start as early as February," Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Volodymyr Yelchenko announced in Washington, D.C. on January 14, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.
He specified that the Pentagon would provide $250 million to Ukraine this year within the framework of already approved assistance, while another $50 million would be allocated under certain conditions.
In addition, the U.S. Department of State earmarked $448 million for economic assistance, of which $115 million will cover security issues.
"So this year, the overall US assistance will total $698 million," the ambassador said.
Yelchenko noted that the United States had allocated $1.6 billion in security assistance to the Ukrainian side since the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine. "This accounts for 92% of all assistance [received by Ukraine] from all world countries," the diplomat said.
The ambassador underscored that Ukraine received the largest security and defense support precisely from the United States.
"The main priority, which was identified in the bilateral consultations between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the U.S. Department of Defense, is strengthening of the Ukrainian Navy. There is such a term as mosquito fleet, i.e. high-speed boats our military lack in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov," Yelchenko said.
In this regard, he recalled that the United States transferred two Island-class patrol boats to Ukraine last year. "Three more boats are expected to be transferred this year," the diplomat said.
According to the ambassador, the military assistance will be partially spent to reequip these boats.
In addition, Yelchenko recalled that Ukraine purchased at its own expense another batch of Javelin missile systems from the US.
"This is important because it opens the way for us to implement some other projects that are currently being negotiated," the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States said.
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