Ukraine war latest: Biden announces new aid package, Poland prepares Ukrainian Legion
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Key developments on July 11:
Biden announces new aid package for Ukraine
Poland prepares Ukrainian Legion, 'several thousand' already registered
NATO affirms Ukraine's 'irreversible' path toward membership, $43 billion in funding for next year
Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade says it halted Russian advance toward Borova
Sweden open to sending Gripens to Ukraine after 'F-16 program completed,' decision up to Kyiv
U.S. President Joe Biden announced a new security assistance package on July 11 during a joint press briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington.
"You (Ukraine) made it clear that Russia will not prevail in Ukraine. Ukraine will prevail. And I want you to know we're going to be with you every step of the way," Biden said on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
This is the eighth package approved by Biden since the end of April when the U.S. Congress passed a foreign aid bill containing close to $61 billion for Ukraine.
The U.S. president did not provide details of the new package during the press briefing.
Later in the day, the Pentagon revealed the full list of equipment and ammunition that Ukraine will receive in the latest package.
The package includes one Patriot air defense battery, munitions for the NASAMS missile systems, ammunition for HIMARS artillery rocket systems, 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided (TOW) equipment and missiles.
The U.S. will also provide Ukraine with Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems, small arms ammunition, demolition munitions, as well as spare parts, maintenance, and other ancillary equipment.
"The United States will continue to work together with some 50 Allies and partners to ensure Ukraine's brave defenders receive the critical capabilities needed to fight Russian aggression," the Pentagon's statement read.
Biden announced earlier this week that the U.S. was taking joint action with Germany, Romania, the Netherlands, and Italy to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses and provide five strategic air defense systems, including Patriot batteries and SAMP/T systems.
Zelensky thanked Biden for the support and his statement in which he condemned the Russian July 8 mass aerial attack across Ukraine. The recent attack killed 44 and injured 196 people in several Ukrainian cities, according to the State Emergency Service.
Zelensky also stressed that he would like to discuss with Biden the protection of Ukraine from Russian guided aerial bombs, as well as the lifting of all "limitations" on the Ukrainian military.
Kyiv is still prohibited from using ATACMS and other long-range U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper inside Russia.
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Poland prepares Ukrainian Legion, 'several thousand' already registered
Poland has begun preparing the first Ukrainian Legion of volunteers with "several thousand" people already having registered to participate, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, said on July 11.
The legion was officially announced as part of the security agreement signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on July 8, which laid out further developments in political, economic, and military cooperation between Ukraine and Poland.
Unlike other specific legions in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, such as the Georgian Legion, the Freedom of Russia Legion, and the Belarusian Pahonia Regiment, the legion will be made up of Ukrainians.
"In Poland, we are starting to prepare the first Ukrainian brigade consisting of volunteers in Poland," Sikorski said at the NATO Summit in Washington in comments reported by Interfax.
"We have up to a million Ukrainians of both sexes, and several thousand of them have already registered to participate.
"And what is interesting, many of them really want to serve and rotate our compatriots, but they say 'we don't want to be sent into battle without being properly trained and equipped'," he added.
Sikorski confirmed that Poland will train and equip the Ukrainian Legion which will be sent to Ukraine as a unit and given the right to return to Poland after completing a rotation.
NATO affirms Ukraine's 'irreversible' path toward membership, $43 billion in funding for next year
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg clarified Ukraine's "irreversible" path toward NATO by emphasizing the alliance's ongoing commitments to Kyiv "constitute a bridge to Ukraine's membership."
"There is a strong message from NATO allies that we really want Ukraine to join, and we are working with Ukraine to make that happen," Stoltenberg said. "The full package we have with Ukraine, the long-term pledge, the delivery of more weapons, including more F-16s, the bilateral security agreements, and the package of interoperability. All of this constitutes, as we call it, a bridge towards membership. These are concrete actions that will bring Ukraine closer to membership."
Over the previous days of the summit, NATO allies have announced plans to provide Ukraine with a minimum baseline funding of 40 billion euros ($43 billion), a new military command in Germany to train and equip Ukrainian troops, and further air defense commitments.
In a longer statement published on July 10, the alliance affirmed Ukraine's "irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership." NATO allies also emphasized that decisions made during the summit and the NATO-Ukraine Council, as well as the Allies’ ongoing work, constitute a bridge to Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan also said that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will appoint a new senior NATO representative in Kyiv to "deepen Ukraine's institutional relationship with the alliance and serve as the focal point for NATO's engagement with senior Ukrainian officials."
Kyiv had voiced hope that this year's NATO summit would bring a more definite signal about Ukraine's future membership in the alliance. American officials made it clear that the country is unlikely to receive an invitation.
Partners assured Kyiv that the event would define a specific position for Ukraine's membership in the alliance, namely its irreversibility and the roadmap toward it, said Olha Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Read also: France, Germany, Italy, Poland to develop new long-range cruise missiles
Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade says it halted Russian advance toward Borova
Ukrainian soldiers thwarted Russia's plans to make a breakthrough toward the village of Borova in Kharkiv Oblast, Maksym Zhorin, a deputy commander of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said on July 11.
The brigade reported on June 18 that Russian forces were intensifying attacks in the border areas of Luhansk Oblast with the aim of capturing Borova in the neighboring region.
According to the military, Russian forces were suffering heavy losses but were replenishing their numbers.
"The enemy was really planning to make a breakthrough here and advance but failed to capture even a meter of land," Zhorin wrote on social media. The Russian advance was stopped by concentrated fire, mostly using drones, he said.
Despite Moscow's troops' attempts to carry out localized assaults, their main efforts in the brigade's sector "have been thwarted so far," Zhorin said.
Borova was occupied by Russian forces in March 2022 and subsequently liberated later that year during Ukraine's sweeping counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast.
Russia is carrying out intense attacks in multiple sections of the eastern front, including in Donetsk Oblast, after it captured the city of Avdiivka in February.
Earlier in July, Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the Kanal neighborhood of the embattled town of Chasiv Yar in the region.
Read also: Opinion: If not membership, NATO should offer Ukraine security guarantees
Sweden open to sending Gripens to Ukraine after 'F-16 program completed,' decision up to Kyiv
Stockholm is open to providing Ukraine with Gripen fighter jets after the "F-16 program is completed," but further steps depend on Kyiv, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Voice of America in an interview published on July 10.
Previously, Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson said that other partners asked Stockholm to wait with possible plans on sending Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, as the focus is now on providing Kyiv with F-16 aircraft.
According to Billstron, the Swedish government did not refuse to send Gripens along with F-16 fighter jets from other allies, but Ukraine concluded that adopting two aircraft systems simultaneously would be difficult to manage.
"We are talking about systems. It's not just about getting aircraft and training pilots. These are complex systems, and it would be too difficult to implement two of them at the same time," Billstron said in the interview.
"But that doesn't mean that Sweden is not open to continuing with the Gripens if and when the F-16 program is completed."
Kyiv is expected to receive at least 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway. The supposed deadline for completing the "F-16 program" is unclear, as Belgium plans to continue delivering its planes until 2028, for example.
The first batch of planes are on their way from the Netherlands and Denmark to Ukraine and will arrive this summer, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 10. The deliveries are expected to continue in the following years.
In late May, Sweden announced the largest military aid package worth $1.3 billion for Kyiv, which includes two ASC 890 radar reconnaissance and control aircraft.
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