Biden sending extra $150m to Ukraine to help it defend borders against Russia, Pentagon announces

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The Biden administration will give Ukraine an additional $150 million to defend their border with Russia, according to a Pentagon announcement.

The allocated funds "includes training, equipment, and advisory efforts to help Ukraine’s forces preserve the country’s territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO”, according to a statement from the Defence department.

It will help pay for "counter-artillery radars, counter-unmanned aerial systems, secure communications gear, electronic warfare and military medical evacuation equipment, and training and equipment to improve the operational safety and capacity of Ukrainian Air Force bases,” according to the statement.

The announcement comes days before Biden’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin on 16 June in Geneva. In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Mr Putin said that his country’s relationship with the US “has deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years”.

The funds from the Pentagon are deemed essential in the fight against threats to defend their border against Russian forces. However, despite being approved earlier, Ukraine receiving it was contingent on them passing certain internal conditions, such as tackling corruption and developing its military.

According to John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, these conditions have been met, as they were “able to certify that Ukraine has made sufficient progress on defense reforms this year”.

These funds are in addition to the $125 million given by the US to Ukraine in March that funded patrol boats, radars and other military intelligence resources, such as satellites. Since 2014, when Russian invaded Ukrainian region of Crimea, the US has committed $2.5 billion to the country.

According to reporting by NBC News, the ongoing conflict has led to more than 14,000 deaths and negatively impacted Ukraine’s industrial landscape.

It first hit global attention following the

The Trump administration froze the aid payments in 2019 amid an effort to dig up dirt on his political opponent, Joe Biden, ahead of the 2020 election. Mr Trump’s scheme led to his first impeachment.

Despite reassurance from the Pentagon that anti-corruption measures were making progress in Ukraine, Mr Trump cited corruption as the reason to stop the payments.