Julianne Smith stressed that Washington can remain focused on partnership and commitment to Israel’s security and continue to support Kyiv.
US Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said that military assistance to Israel after the attack by Hamas militants will not be provided at the expense of Ukraine.
The New York Times writes about this . It is noted that following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States provided approximately $45 billion in military aid, making it the largest donor to Ukrainian troops. However, now that Israel has become the victim of a terrorist attack by Hamas, the Biden administration is rushing to help that country as well.
“This has raised questions about whether the United States can keep pace with both conflicts without also hampering its own military readiness,” the report notes.
Julianne Smith tried to overcome her anxiety ahead of a meeting of defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
“We do not expect any problems in this regard,” she said.
Smith said the United States can “remain focused on our partnership and commitment to Israel’s security, and live up to our commitments and promise to continue to support Ukraine as it defends its territory and defends all the values we all value in the Alliance.”
Julianne Smith also said that some meetings in Brussels this week will look for additional ways to continue aid supplies to Ukraine and speed up weapons production in NATO member countries.
Military assistance to Ukraine: latest news
The other day, the media wrote that US President Joe Biden had already approved the provision of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine after almost a year of resistance to this decision. The American leader made this decision even before the visit of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to Washington in September. The American authorities have not yet provided official confirmation.
Meanwhile, Denmark is working to increase the supply of American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine . Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called on people not to get tired of the events in Ukraine.
(C)UNIAN 2023
Easy to say after US aid defacto stopped.
That’s not true. Although House Republicans blocked aid for Ukraine from being included in the deal to keep the federal government open, there’s still over 5 billion that President Biden can draw against from previous allocations. Plus, a pause in new funding does not affect existing Pentagon contracts under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
Interesting and at least some good news. Thanks, Larry.