Ukraine skeptical after Kremlin announces withdrawal of some forces near border
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday thanked the United States and Canada for sending his country financial aid amid the ongoing security crisis with Russia.
“We are grateful to the United States for providing substantial financial support of $ 1 billion and $ 3 billion available for projects in Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a post on his official Twitter account.
He also thanked US President Joe Biden “for the quick decision and concrete results” following their conversation on Sunday.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US government “is offering a sovereign loan guarantee to Ukraine of up to $1 billion to support its economic reform agenda and continued engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”
“This offer – combined with the strong partnership between Ukraine, the IMF, other international financial institutions, the G7 and other bilateral donors – will bolster Ukraine’s ability to ensure economic stability, growth, and prosperity for its people in the face of Russia’s destabilizing behavior,” Blinken said in a statement.
The IMF is an organization of 190 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability and facilitate international trade.
In a separate tweet, Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for also providing half a billion dollars in financial aid.
On Monday, Trudeau confirmed in a press release that “Canada will donate over $7 million of lethal weapons and assorted support items to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
Russia’s Ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, called the giving of weapons aid to Ukraine “unacceptable” in an interview with Russian state news agency TASS.
Stepanov said the move would “only aggravate the current conflict,” adding that “by providing weapons, Western countries are pushing the Kyiv regime to continue the war against its own people,” according to TASS.
Ambassador Stepanov called on Ottawa “to refrain from such actions and instead use its special influence with the authorities in Kyiv to bring them to the negotiating table.”
Among the lethal weapons donated by Canada are “machine guns, pistols, carbines, 1.5 million rounds of ammunition, sniper rifles, and various related equipment”, the Canadian government press release said Monday.
