'Ukraine fighting Russia with weapons provided by Trump administration'

US needed to provide anti-aircraft systems to help Ukraine win in its fight against Russia, says former vice president

Former US Vice President Mike Pence has said that Ukraine is fighting Russia with weapons provided by the Trump administration, Fox News reported on Friday.

"The Ukrainian soldiers are using the arms that our administration provided to them, and they were suspended by the Biden administration. The Obama-Biden administration only sent them meals and blankets. We armed the Ukrainian military," he said during an interview.

Pence said that the US needed to provide anti-aircraft systems to help Ukraine win in its fight against Russia.

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"The Biden administration should transfer those MiG [fighter jets] out of Poland to Ukraine, do it immediately. They've got pilots in Ukraine that know how to fly them. But just as important, we need to continue to provide the kind of ground-based anti-aircraft systems that can take out Russian aircraft that are doing the high stratosphere bombing," he added.

Earlier this month, the US said it would rush up to $200 million in additional small arms, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine, as Ukrainian officials pleaded for more equipment to defend against heavy shelling by Russian forces.

Biden authorised the additional security assistance, the White House said, paving the way for the "immediate" shipment of fresh military equipment to Ukraine, a senior administration official said.

Biden's decision brings total US security aid provided to Ukraine to $1.2 billion since January 2021, and to $3.2 billion since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine, according to senior administration officials.

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Russia says it is engaged in a "special military operation" that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its neighbour's military capabilities and "de-Nazify" Ukraine.

Ukraine has been asking for more Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger missiles to shoot down aircraft.

Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, underscored Ukraine's need for additional military supplies in an interview with the non-profit Renew Democracy Initiative.

(With additional input from Reuters)