The Pentagon has released $200 million in military aid to Ukraine after the White House rejected an offer by Russian President Vladimir Putin to work with the United States in resolving the conflict.
The money was allocated months ago as part of the US defense budget but its release was contingent on the Ukrainian government passing “a series of defense reforms” demanded by Washington.
On Friday, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington announced that the funds have been released.
Earlier on the day, the White House said it would not consider a proposal reportedly made by Putin during his summit with President Donald Trump for a referendum to be held in regions of eastern Ukraine.
US National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said that organizing such a referendum would have “no legitimacy.”
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said Trump and Putin had discussed “concrete proposals” on the Ukrainian conflict during their…