US to send Ukraine $725 million in new military aid

The US will ship to Ukraine $725 million more in military assistance, the country’s Departments of State and Defense have announced, citing Russia’s recent retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian targets.

In a statement on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tied the new weapons package to what he claimed to be “Russia’s brutal missile attacks on civilians across Ukraine” and “mounting evidence of atrocities by Russia's forces".

The latest aid includes more ammunition for the HIMARS rocket system and brings the total amount of American arms supplied to Ukraine by the Biden administration to more than 18.3 billion, the Pentagon declared in a separate statement.

Last Saturday, a truck exploded damaging Kerch Strait Bridge, which hosts road and rail links between Russia and Crimea. The blast set ablaze seven oil tankers transported by train and collapsed two car lanes of the giant road and rail structure.

Although Ukraine did not formally claim responsibility for the bridge bombing, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak declared the bombing was just “the beginning” of more attacks against Russian targets.

Car bomb sparks huge fire on Crimea bridge, celebrations in Ukraine

A car bomb blast on a key road and rail bridge linking Crimea to Russia has sparked a massive fire, prompting gleeful messages from Ukrainian officials.

The Russian president described the blast as “a terrorist act” carried out by Ukrainian secret services aimed at destroying critical Russian civilian infrastructure.

On Monday, Russia’s military struck Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, with Putin warning of a “harsh” response in case of any further attacks such as the one on the Crimean Bridge.  

Saudi regime announces $400mn aid to Ukraine

Saudi Arabia also announced Saturday it will send to Ukraine “humanitarian aid” worth $400 million, according to the Persian Gulf kingdom’s official SPA news agency.

It noted that the country’s despotic Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered the aid package in a phone call to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to SPA, Salman also emphasized "the Kingdom's position of supporting everything that will contribute to de-escalation, and the Kingdom's readiness to continue the efforts of mediation."

The development came after the Saudi regime played an unexpected role last month in facilitating a prisoner-of-war swap between Ukraine and Russia.

The Ukraine conflict has, however, sparked tensions between the kingdom and its closest ally and chief sponsor, the United States, after Saudi Arabia largely resisted pressure to ramp up oil production to ease the energy crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine.

Riyadh has been subjected to increasing condemnation by Washington after the Saudis did not use their influence to resist an agreement by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – in which the kingdom remains a key member – to drastically slash production, along Russia and other allies, which could send global energy prices surging even higher.

Moreover, Washington has accused OPEC+ of aligning itself with Moscow, and on Wednesday, President Joe Biden threatened "consequences" for Saudi Arabia.

Biden says there will be 'consequences' for Saudi Arabia over OPEC+ decision

US President Joe Biden says there will be "consequences" for Saudi Arabia following a recent decision by the OPEC+, in which Riyadh is a top producer, to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day over Washington

Biden threatened during a CNN interview on Tuesday he would soon take unspecified action against the regime that has long-served American interests in the region.

"There's going to be some consequences for what they've done with Russia," he claimed. "I'm not going to get into what I'd consider and what I have in mind. But there will be consequences."

The remarks came after Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States must immediately freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales to the country.

Earlier in the day, the White House said that Biden was re-evaluating the US's relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production.

Last week, OPEC+ approved its deepest cuts to the production of oil since 2020 at a meeting in the Austrian capital, Vienna, curbing supply in an already tight market despite pressure from the United States and others to pump more. The 2-million-barrel cut per day is equal to 2 percent of global supply.

The United States had pushed OPEC not to proceed with the cuts. And earlier, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, Biden had reportedly asked for an increase in production to alleviate an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. 

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