Saudi Arabia announces $400 mn in humanitarian aid for Ukraine

Issued on: 15/10/2022 – 07:27

6:14am: Putin says Russia ‘doing everything right’ in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was “doing everything right” in its nearly eight-month invasion of Ukraine despite a string of embarrassing defeats against Kyiv’s forces, who will receive $725 million in new US military assistance.

Putin’s comments Friday came hours after Kremlin-installed officials in the southern Kherson region urged residents to leave as Kyiv said its soldiers were advancing on the oblast’s main city.

Moscow also hinted at the extent of the damage dealt to the Crimea bridge — the sole land connection between its mainland and the annexed Ukrainian peninsula — following a blast last Saturday, saying it could take many months to complete repairs.

“What is happening today is not pleasant. But all the same, (if Russia hadn’t attacked in February) we would have been in the same situation, only the conditions would have been worse for us,” Putin told reporters after a summit in the capital of Kazakhstan.

3:01am: Saudi Arabia announces $400 mn in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, reports SPA news agency

Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced $400 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, the official SPA news agency said, adding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had made a phone call to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The prince emphasised “the Kingdom’s position of supporting everything that will contribute to de-escalation, and the Kingdom’s readiness to continue the efforts of mediation,” SPA reported.

1:50am: US announces $725 mn in new military assistance to Ukraine, says Blinken

The United States will send an additional $725 million in military assistance to Ukraine, the State Department and Pentagon announced Friday.

The aid comes “in the wake of Russia’s brutal missile attacks on civilians across Ukraine,” and “the mounting evidence of atrocities by Russia’s forces,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. 

This newest package includes more ammunition for the HIMARS rocket system and brings the total US military assistance to Ukraine to $18.3 billion since the start of Joe Biden’s administration, the Department of Defence said in a separate statement. 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)