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Added on the 03/03/2022 12:52:56 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announces $6 billion in new military aid for Ukraine as Washington rushes to fill gaps left by months of limited American assistance. SOUNDBITE
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says a delay in passing new US aid for Ukraine was already hurting Kyiv's forces on the battlefield against Russia. "We see the impact already of the fact that the US has not been able to make a decision, but I expect the US to be able to make a decision, that the Congress and the House of Representatives will agree continued support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg tells journalists at a meeting of the alliance's defence ministers in Brussels. SOUNDBITE
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledges to find a way around Hungary's block on a 50 billion euro aid package for Ukraine at a summit early next year. "We will have an operational solution" she says, speaking after a crunch EU summit in Brussels where member states agreed to begin membership talks with Kyiv, despite opposition from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. SOUNDBITE
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin vows that Washington increasing military support for Israel following the Hamas attack will not drain aid away from Ukraine as it continues battling Russia. "The United States will remain able to project power and to direct resources to tackle crises in multiple theatres. So we will stand firmly with Israel as we continue to support Ukraine," states Lloyd Austin after a meeting of Ukraine's backers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. SOUNDBITE
As part of the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen says Brussels will provide 500 million euros ($560 million) in extra funding to help deal with the "humanitarian consequences" of the war, including the flow of refugees into the bloc. SOUNDBITE