Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov. Photo: Nina Lyashonok/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov confirmed on Twitter on Sunday that the government in Kyiv has received a second shipment of weapons from the United States.
Why it matters: With the failure of diplomatic talks to produce a deescalation in the brewing crisis, a Russian invasion of the country might be increasingly likely.
- As much as the Ukrainian military has improved since 2014, it would still be no match for a full-scale Russian invasion, writes Axios' Zachary Basu.
- The U.S. and its allies hope that Western weapons, training, and the threat of financial sanctions may help deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading.
The big picture: "The second bird in Kyiv! More than 80 tons of weapons to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities from our friends in the USA! And this is not the end," Reznikov tweeted, along with photos of the cache.
- The weapons are part of a $200 million security assistance package President Biden authorized in December.
- On Friday night, the U.S. embassy in Ukraine tweeted that the first batch of U.S. weapons had arrived in Kyiv. "This cargo includes about 200,000 pounds of lethal weapons, including ammunition for the defenders of Ukraine on the front line."
Go deeper: Who's arming Ukraine: U.S., U.K., Baltic states — but not Germany