USA ANNOUNCES 250 MILLION USD FOR UKRAINE SECURITY:Military updates The United States announced an additional support package worth some $250 million to bolster Ukraine’s security and defense, pledging to provide mine-clearing equipment, air defense missiles and ammunition for artillery and small arms. Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters that Washington and its allies and partners “will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” Nearly 1,400 people, including 343 children, have been evacuated from Kupyansk, a city in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, in the past three weeks, according to the Kharkiv regional governor. Authorities have ordered thousands of Kupyansk residents to flee a surge in shelling and fighting in recent weeks.