Pentagon: US to send additional "non-lethal" military aid to Ukraine
Iran Press TV
Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:1PM GMT
The administration of US President Barack Obama says it will send more "non-lethal" military aid to the new Western-backed government of Ukraine amid increasing tensions between the country and neighboring Russia.
'Earlier this morning I called Ukraine's acting defense minister to tell him that President Obama has approved additional non-lethal military assistance for health and welfare items and other supplies,' said US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday.
The military equipment includes medical supplies, helmets, sleeping mats and water purification units, he added.
The Pentagon chief made the remarks during a news conference after talks with Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak.
Hagel also announced that the US would keep aircraft in Poland 'at least until the end of the current year.'
The US defense secretary, however, added that the measures were 'not meant to provoke or threaten Russia.'
The US decisions come a day after the NATO said it has plans to increase its military presence in eastern Europe 'within days' by sending more ships, planes and troops to the region.
This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday admitted that the mutual ties between Moscow and Washington have been damaged due to "double standards and lies' of the other side.
The Russian president added that Washington criticizes Moscow over the situation in Ukraine while the US launched wars on several countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya in recent years.
Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, has been a source of contention in the relations between East and West since its independence in 1991.
The latest crisis in Ukraine began after pro-Western forces toppled the government of former president Viktor Yanukovych, replacing it with a Western-backed administration.
DT/DT
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