WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has declared a new military aid package for Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. According to a statement from Blinken, the package includes additional mine-clearing equipment, missiles for air defence, ammunition for artillery and high bar systems, and more than three million rounds of small arms ammunition.

The US also came close to declaring that the Kremlin might be responsible for Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death, as reported by Al Jazeera. “We all know that the Kremlin has a long history of killing opponents,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Meanwhile, South Korea has also unveiled a new package of USD 394 million for Ukraine in 2024, an eightfold increase from this year.

Humanitarian relief and assistance with reconstruction are both included in the aid package. A "large scale of military supplies" would be given to Ukraine this year, according to a July declaration by President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea, Al Jazeera reported.

Russia on Tuesday also saw the funeral of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — who was killed in a plane crash last week. The Wagner founder's funeral took place "in a closed format," according to Concord Management, the company Prigozhin owned. The company Concord Management was owned by Prigozhin. It, however, didn’t specify when the funeral took place." Those wishing to say goodbye can visit the Porokhovskoe cemetery" in St Petersburg, Concord's press service added, CNN reported.