---

The US is readying more than $2bn worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. The aid is expected to be announced as soon as possible, Reuters reported, citing two US officials briefed on the plan. U.S. President Joe Biden said on January 31 that he will discuss Ukraine's latest requests for advanced weaponry to defend against Russia with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Agence France-Presse reported. On the other hand, the new US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, was heckled by a crowd of people chanting anti-US slogans as she entered the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow to present her diplomatic credentials. Protests in Russia – particularly on issues related to the war – are effectively banned unless they have the backing of the authorities. The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has said the west’s supplying