Indian Prime Minister's visit to Kyiv and new US aid to Ukraine - Friday brief

Indian PM arrives in Kyiv

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv on an official visit. He held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

After the meeting, Zelenskyy and Modi issued a joint statement. They agreed to hold the second meeting of the joint working group on military-technical cooperation.

Modi also said that India was ready to make an active contribution to peace in Ukraine.

Ukraine and India signed four documents on cooperation. They relate to medicine, agriculture, humanitarian aid, and culture.

Biden announces new aid package for Ukraine

The United States has announced a new military aid package for Ukraine. Its amount is $125 million.

"Tomorrow - as the people of Ukraine mark their Independence Day - let it be clear: When Russia’s senseless war began, Ukraine was a free country. Today, it is still a free country. And the war will end with Ukraine remaining a free, sovereign, and independent country," stated Biden.

He had a conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The military aid includes:

• Ammunition for HIMARS missile systems;
• Missiles for air defense systems;
• Javelin anti-tank missiles and other anti-tank weapons;
• Systems and equipment for countering drones and electronic warfare;
• 155mm and 105mm artillery shells;
• Vehicles and other equipment.

Zelenskyy after Army chief's report: We are pushing Russians out of Kharkiv region

Ukrainian defenders are gradually pushing Russian troops out of the Kharkiv region. Fighting continues in the region, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The head of the Ukrainian state mentioned that he discussed the battles in the Kharkiv region with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

"We are pushing out the Russian army. Gradually. The occupier will not conquer Kharkiv, will not conquer all of our Ukraine," the president stated.

Meanwhile, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade in the Kharkiv region is conducting stabilization operations after a counterattack. The soldiers managed to gain a foothold.

Ukraine receives license from Norway to manufacture artillery shells

Ukraine will be able to produce Norwegian 155-mm artillery shells. The corresponding license was granted by the Norwegian-Finnish company Nammo.

The Norwegian government decided to allocate funds for the production of such ammunition in Ukraine.

"Norway is currently contributing by supplying ammunition from its own stockpiles and directly from industry. Now, Nammo wants to share its development with Ukraine. This means that Ukrainian forces will be able to receive ammunition more quickly," said Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram.

US expands sanctions on Russia

The United States has expanded sanctions against Russia. This time, they affected the defense and metallurgical complexes, as well as the supply of dual-use goods.

The new package covers about 400 entities. All of them are to some extent related to the Russian fuel and energy and metallurgical sectors. They also affected the financial sector and dual-use goods for Russia's military-industrial complex, which are supplied to Russia in circumvention of the sanctions.

The US also added Pavel Belousov, the son of the Russian Defense Minister, to the sanctions list.

Latvia sends largest batch of drones to Ukraine

Latvia is preparing to send its largest shipment of drones to Ukraine, comprising 1,400 units from local manufacturers.

In total, under the International Drone Coalition, Latvia has already delivered 3,000 combat drones of various types to Ukraine.