Ukraine News: Ukraine is apparently withdrawing Abrams tanks from the front

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US sends billions in military aid to Ukraine

“In the next few hours” we will begin sending anti-aircraft equipment, artillery, missile systems and armored vehicles to Ukraine, Biden said in a speech at the White House on Wednesday. According to an overview published by the US Department of Defense, the new package, worth about one billion US dollars (about 914 million francs), includes urgently needed artillery shells of various calibers and rockets for air defense systems and armored vehicles. According to standard media reports, ATACMS missiles are also said to be included – initially it is not clear at what range they are.

After months of domestic political deadlock, the US Congress, with approval from the Senate, approved billions in aid to Russia-hit Ukraine on Tuesday evening (local time) – clearing the way for new arms supplies. The law provides aid worth about US$61 billion (about 55.75 billion francs) to Kyiv. The U.S. government has long and vehemently demanded the release of funds from Congress.

Zelensky thanked Biden for the immediate aid package from the United States

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed relief at the US emergency aid package. “We are getting the support we need to continue to protect our lives from Russian attacks,” Zelenskiy wrote on X Platform (formerly Twitter). “I'm grateful to President Biden, Congress and all Americans for realizing that we need to pull the rug out from under Putin rather than obey him,” he added. Considering the difficult situation on the frontline, the Ukrainian head of state emphasized in his evening video address: “We will do our best for the six months that have passed in discussions and doubts.”

The US has already delivered long-range ATACMS missiles

It became known on Wednesday evening that the US has already delivered ATACMS missiles to Ukraine some time ago. The Defense Ministry said the precision weapons were quietly approved by the US government. They were part of an emergency military package for Ukraine announced by the US in March, but were not expressly listed as “maintaining its operational security at the request of Ukraine”. There was no information initially provided on whether these ATACMS missiles would be models with a range of around 300 kilometers or shorter ranges.

The missiles were used in last week's attack on Russia's annexed Crimean peninsula and this week's attack on the occupied city of Berdyansk in southeastern Ukraine, NBC News reported, citing US government officials.

In October, Ukraine already used ATACMS missiles from the US to defend itself against a Russian war of aggression. At the time, these were models with a range of around 165 km. The Ukrainian government had called for long-range ATACMS missiles.

There are concerns that the weapon system (English: Military Tactical Missile System) could also hit targets in Russia. For this reason, the United States and other Western partners have long responded to Kiev's demands with great reluctance.

Pistorius: Russia's arms production is already filling depots

According to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Russia is already producing more weapons and ammunition than it needs for a war of aggression against Ukraine. Pistorius said in the ARD proposal that due to rising arms costs and the regulation of the war economy, “most or part of the new production ends up in depots rather than going forward”. Maischberger ». At the same time, he warned against further military ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pistorius said: “Now you can be naive and say he's doing it out of caution. As a skeptic, I'd say in this case, he's doing it because if there's any doubt, he's got something on his mind or something.”

Zelensky thanked Qatar for helping to free the kidnapped children

Meanwhile, Zelensky thanked the influential Gulf emirate of Qatar for helping free 16 Ukrainian children who were forcibly abducted to Russia. “Thanks to the mediation efforts of our ally Qatar, they were released and reunited with their families,” Zelensky wrote on the X Platform (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday evening. The children and their relatives are currently in Qatar for medical, psychological and social recovery.

By February, Ukraine said it had identified nearly 20,000 children allegedly brought to Russia or Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Only several hundred of them are said to have returned so far. The information could not be independently verified at first. Gulf states such as Qatar generally maintain good relations with Russia and seek to remain neutral in the Ukraine conflict. Moscow is an important partner for them, for example in the energy sector. Russia has been accused of deliberately erasing the identity of Ukrainian children and causing them deep emotional and psychological trauma through forced abduction. (DPA)