U.S. provides 350 mln USD worth of weapons to Ukraine

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Saturday that the United States is offering 350 million U.S. dollars worth of "lethal defensive" weapons to Ukraine to help defend itself against the ongoing Russian military operations.

Blinken said in a statement that U.S. President Joe Biden authorized him to decide on such a move. As such, he has authorized the Department of Defense to carry out the presidential drawdown, which will help Ukraine cope with "the armored, airborne, and other threats it is now facing."

The secretary said the latest sum was on top of the 60-million-dollar and 200-million-dollar immediate military aid to Ukraine that Biden delegated to him last year, bringing total U.S. security support to the Eastern European nation over the past year to more than 1 billion dollars.