Victorious news on 835th day of war: US sends HIMARS ammo, other weapons worth over $200 mln, talks on Ukraine's EU membership may start in June

The US has allocated a new military aid package to Ukraine

There will be no shortage of ammunition for HIMARS. During a meeting with Zelenskyy in France, US President Joe Biden announced a new $225 million military aid package for Ukraine. It will include, among other things, armored personnel carriers, howitzers and air defense missiles.

A full list of what will be included in the new aid package was published on the Pentagon's website. The package includes missiles for the Hawk air defense system, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), 155 mm howitzers, 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells, mortar systems, M113 armored personnel carriers, Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems, small arms ammunition and grenades, explosive munitions, night vision devices and other equipment. During his meeting with Zelenskyy, Biden apologized for the delay in aid to Ukraine. 

"I apologize for those weeks when we didn't know what was going to be passed in terms of funding, because we had problems passing a bill that had money from some of our very conservative members holding it up, but we did," the US president said.

The Netherlands to allocate money for armored personnel carriers for Ukraine

The Netherlands will donate €400 million for the production of combat vehicles for Ukraine. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said this, De telegraaf reports.

"The Netherlands will allocate €400 million to the Swedish fund for the production of infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine. The vehicles will be manufactured mainly in the Netherlands," the statement says.

Kajsa Ollongren also said that the Dutch government is developing an action plan to expand the defense industry in the country. It includes a fund for startups in the defense market, to which the ministries of defense and economy are allocating €25 million. In addition, €54 million will be invested in the development of drones for the Dutch Armed Forces.

Ukraine has fulfilled all the conditions for starting EU accession talks

On June 7, the European Commission informed the EU countries that Ukraine and Moldova have fulfilled all the criteria necessary to start negotiations on accession to the European Union. 

The European Commission said in an address to EU ambassadors that Kyiv had fulfilled the remaining requirements that had not been met so far, including increased funding for the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, limiting the influence of oligarchs, and better ensuring the rights of ethnic minorities, Voice of America reported.

Negotiations on Ukraine's and Moldova's accession to the European Union may begin as early as June 25.

Grad MLRS, electronic warfare systems and 11 artillery systems destroyed

Over the past day, the Southern Defense Forces destroyed 145 Russian soldiers, according to a message on the Telegram channel. In addition, Russian enemy lost 29 pieces of weapons and military equipment, including: 1 Grad multiple rocket launcher system, 11 artillery weapons, 7 armored vehicles, and one Groza electronic warfare station.

They also destroyed 4 observation posts, a UAV control center and two firing positions.