United States Department of State
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal today met with a delegation of Inspectors General from the Department of State, Department of Defense and the U. S. Agency for International Development.
The head of the National Police of Ukraine has signed cooperation agreements with U. S. agencies to strengthen the fight against fraud, corruption and illegal activities related to U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken plans to visit Israel from February 3 to 5 for a series of meetings with Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Washington to prepare for the July NATO summit, where important decisions will be made to continue supporting Ukraine, strengthening NATO's defense and deterrence.
The total value of U. S. arms exports in 2023 reached a record $238 billion, up 16% from 2022. Of this amount, $80.9 billion was foreign military sales, up 55.9%, and $157.5 billion was direct commercial sales, up 2.5%. The growth is explained by the fact that countries are replenishing stocks sent to Ukraine and preparing for large-scale conflicts.
According to Blinken, congressional approval of additional funding for Ukraine is vital to ensuring Ukraine's success and Russia's failure. Without it, Ukraine's achievements and what the U.S. has helped it achieve will be jeopardized.
US inspectors arrived in Kyiv to oversee and ensure accountability of US military assistance to Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy believes that a delay in US assistance to Ukraine could weaken European unity and NATO, embolden Putin, and undermine the policy of sanctions against Russian aggression.
Nancy Pelosi has called on the FBI to investigate whether some pro-Palestinian protests in the US have links to Russia or Russian funding. She believes that Putin may be behind some of the protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Greece has decided to give Ukraine outdated weapons systems that are no longer used by its military. This comes after the United States approved the sale of $8.6 billion worth of F-35 fighter jets to Greece and offered additional military aid of $200 million if Greece provides the weapons to Ukraine.
The US State Department has authorized a potential $23 billion sale of 40 new F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits for Turkey's existing F-16 fleet. This happened shortly after Turkey ratified Sweden's accession to NATO. At the same time, Greece will receive 40 F-35 fighter jets in order to balance relations between the two NATO allies.