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US sending only nonlethal equipment to Ukraine — Pentagon

The supplies include HMMWVs, counter mortar radar, night vision, body armor, and medical equipment

© AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file

WASHINGTON, September 30. /TASS/. The US Department of Defense is providing Kiev with only nonlethal equipment, a Pentagon spokesperson has said, stressing that Washington believes that there is no military solution to the Ukrainian crisis.

"DoD continues to support Ukraine with only nonlethal equipment, as we continue to believe that there is no military resolution to the crisis," said Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza.

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The US continually assesses its policies "to ensure they are responsive, appropriate and calibrated to achieve our objectives." "Our focus from the outset of the crisis has been on supporting Ukraine and on pursuing a diplomatic solution that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," she said.

Washington has earmarked more than $265 million in equipment and training to Ukraine security forces and border guard service, "to help Ukraine better monitor and secure its border, operate more safely and effectively, and preserve and enforce its territorial integrity," Baldanza said. This includes HMMWVs, counter mortar radar, night vision, body armor, and medical equipment.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page on Tuesday that the country’s National Guard has received the US-made Barrett large-caliber sniper rifles.

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