US military assistance to Ukraine. File photoWASHINGTON, Apr 19NBC TV channel reports, citing unnamed representatives of the US administration, that the United States this week intends to announce a new package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of hundreds of millions of dollars. According to these data, the new aid package will be similar in size to the previous one, under which the United States to provide Kiev with $800 million worth of weapons. It is expected that, among other things, the new package will include artillery pieces and «tens of thousands of artillery ammunition.» The US administration expects to announce new shipments in the coming days.The United States cannot track where the weapons sent to Kiev end up, the media write. In addition, the United States is allegedly preparing to introduce a new package of sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, according to the channel's sources, it is unclear whether new sanctions will be introduced as early as this week. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that the United States and Western countries controlled by it are doing everything to delay the Russian special operation in Ukraine. According to him, the growing volumes of arms supplies clearly demonstrate their intentions to provoke the Kyiv regime to fight «to the last Ukrainian.» Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and On March 25, they completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
