Putin brings Ukraine’s militarization closer with his full-scale aggression — military expert Musienko

He expressed this opinion on Espreso. 

“There is important news that Ukroboronprom (state-owned defence enterprise - ed.) successfully tested a Ukrainian drone with a range of 1,000 km. As an expert, I can confirm that there are many developments happening in Ukraine. Also, who said that a country can achieve complete militarization solely with internal resources? No country today is fully independent in terms of arms production. Even the USA collaborates with Israeli, French, German, and Norwegian companies to jointly produce weapons. For instance, the air defense system NASAMS, which Ukraine uses, is a result of such cooperation. Therefore, it is fair to say that Putin is militarizing Ukraine more than anyone else through the full-scale aggression,” he said. 

Oleksandr Musienko further mentioned that if it weren't for the Russian Federation's aggressive actions, we wouldn't be discussing the arrival of F-16s in Ukraine until 2030. However, due to the current situation, these aircraft will be in Ukraine by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. 

US aid to Ukraine

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, the United States has provided Ukraine with about USD 40 billion in military aid and continues to do so. In particular, on June 7, John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the National Security Council, said that the United States has sufficient funding to support Ukraine in 2023.

On June 9, the United States announced a military support package for Ukraine worth more than USD 2 billion. It includes ammunition for Patriot air defense systems, HAWK air defense systems, missiles, artillery shells, Puma drones, and more.

Later, the US announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth USD 325 million, which includes additional ammunition and armored vehicles.

In addition, United States partners have allocated additional humanitarian aid in the amount of USD 205 million to support the Ukrainian people.