Washington: US President Joe Biden has authorised Secretary of State Antony Blinken to provide immediate military assistance to Ukraine.
According to the White House, “The President on Friday signed a memorandum delegating the Secretary of State authorities authorities, subject to fulfilling the requirements of section 614(a)(3) and section 652 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), in order to provide immediate military assistance to Ukraine.”
It said, “The authority under section 614(a)(1) of the FAA to determine whether it is important to the security interests of the United States to furnish up to $250 million in assistance without regard to any provision of law within the purview of section 614(a)(1) of the FAA.”
The authority under section 506(a)(1) of the FAA to direct the drawdown of up to an aggregate value of $350 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, and to make the determinations required under such section to direct such a drawdown, the White House added.
Russia continued attacking Ukraine from several directions through Friday night, and launched an intense attack on the city of Kyiv, using airstrikes and deploying paratroopers. The Russian invasion killed 137 Ukrainians on its first day on February 24.
The Ukrainian government said that over 1,000 Russian troops were killed on the first day as well. Ukraine said it was the highest number of battlefield casualties that modern Russia has ever sustained in one day.Â
