The $275 million military aid package announced by the Biden administration on Friday will provide Ukraine with rockets, artillery shells and other “urgently needed” weapons and equipment to thwart Russian aggression in the country’s war-torn northeast.
The aid package marks Kyiv’s fifth round of aid since Congress approved an additional $60 billion in funding last month.
This includes ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, tube-launched optically tracked wire-guided (TOW) missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems, precision aviation weapons, explosive ordnance, anti-armor mines, and other equipment.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the firepower heading toward Kiev was “critical” and “urgently needed” to defend against a Russian attack near Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.
“Previous assistance packages have already reached the front lines, and we will move this new assistance as quickly as possible so that Ukrainian forces can use it to defend their territory and protect their people,” Blinken said in a statement.
“As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have formed will continue to stand with Ukraine in protecting its freedoms,” he added.
The package also includes small arms and small arms ammunition, grenades, blast ordnance, anti-armour mines, tactical vehicles, bulletproof vests, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection equipment and spare parts.
These weapons would be channeled through the President’s reduction authority, drawing from the Department of Defense’s existing stockpile.
This marks the 58th shipment of military equipment provided to Ukraine from the Department of Defense inventory since August 2021.
“I thank Joe Biden, the U.S. Congress and both parties, and the American people for the new military assistance package announced today,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. I wrote to X.
“This support is crucial as the enemy intensifies its attacks on the front lines,” he added. “Today in Kharkiv, I saw firsthand the importance of strengthening our soldiers to defend our people, our cities and our communities.”
In his daily address, President Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had “succeeded in pacifying the border area” near Kharkiv, where “Russian occupation forces had entered.”
He said he did a tour Kharkov printing facility Seven employees were killed and 21 were injured in a Russian bombing on Thursday.
“Freedom is a value that both our countries cherish, and protecting it requires continued strong support from the United States and other allies,” Zelenskyy said.
The United States has provided Ukraine with roughly $51 billion in military aid since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
