The US continues to increase its military and humanitarian support to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion, he told the voice of america Kristina A. Kvien, Acting United States Ambassador to Ukraine.
Kvien, who was on Wednesday at the Madyca border crossing, Poland, assures that Washington is working on different fronts and with different options to determine how much security and humanitarian aid should flow into Ukraine while the war in that country continues. it continues to claim lives and send hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing as refugees.
“We are doing everything possible to provide Ukraine with the assistance it needs to be able to help defend its skies,” he explained in an interview with FLY.
Regarding the Ukrainian government’s request to close the airspace, Kvien said he had held talks with a bipartisan group of senators in Warsaw.
“They all said they support giving Ukraine fighter jets and closing the airspace, at least, to a part of Ukraine, to allow humanitarian aid to arrive safely.”
The ambassador’s statements coincide with the government announcement from the United States that Ukraine would receive long-range anti-missile defenses and Switchblade armed drones, among other weaponry.
Humanitarian aid
Regarding humanitarian aid, the official reaffirmed that the United States is one of the largest humanitarian donors to Ukraine. She further said that both the US and Western allies are already talking about how to make sure “Ukraine is ready for its reconstruction after this horrible war.”
At the beginning of the week, the Biden Administration announced the sending of 54 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to those affected by the war.
That new round of funding included nearly $26 million from the State Department and $28 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
USAID also has a presence in the field, currently operating a warehouse where humanitarian aid destined for the Ukrainians is channeled.
Steven Allen, USAID Ukraine Disaster and Crisis Response Team Leader, explained to FLY that the place is a combination of assistance from the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and USAID.
According to Allen, an important part of the US aid strategy is to make sure that aid to Ukraine “can flow in effectively and efficiently.”
“What we do is a wide range of coordination for US government funding for humanitarian operations in contact with the Ukrainian government,” he concluded.
* With information from Myroslava Gongadze, from Medyka, Poland.
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