Rescue workers puts out a fire after a Russian rocket attack on a food market in the city center of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023.
The attack was another grim reminder of the war’s civilian toll. “A regular market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who did nothing wrong,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. Blinken was set to pledge more than $1 billion in new U.S. funding, a senior State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the announcement before it was made.Roughly $275 million will be military aid, including depleted uranium tank rounds that had been a subject of internal administration debate until Tuesday, according to another U.S. official.
Biden and the Pentagon, however, have said repeatedly they they will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. As of Aug. 29, there was approximately $5.75 billion left in the already approved funding for weapons and equipment taken from existing Pentagon stocks. Washington officials said there will be discussions of alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain following Russia’s exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its frequent attacks on port facilities in the Odesa region.
Shmyhal said Ukraine is grateful the money is coming in the form of grants, not loans that would drive it into debt.