The Pentagon on Monday announced $1.7 billion in new military aid to Ukraine, including missiles, ammunition and anti-tank weapons to counter Russian aggression.
The package includes $200 million in immediate assistance from existing weapons and equipment stockpiles within the Department of Defense and $1.5 billion in long-term assistance from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) fund.
The firepower headed toward Ukraine includes surface-to-air missiles, short- and medium-range air defense weapons, RIM-7 missiles for air defense, electronic warfare equipment, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) rockets, artillery and mortar rounds, tube-launched optically tracked wire-guided (TOW) missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank weapons, and other equipment.
According to the Pentagon, the package marks the 62nd reduction in military equipment to Ukraine approved by President Biden and the 20th installment allocated under USAI.
“The United States will send large quantities of urgently needed weapons and equipment to Ukraine to help Ukrainian forces defend against Russian aggression,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“This support will help strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses and enhance Ukraine’s capabilities across the front lines,” he added.
Blinken noted that the latest security assistance package is the ninth since Congress approved an additional $60 billion in funding for Kyiv in April.
“We will deploy this new assistance as quickly as possible to strengthen the defense of Ukraine’s territory and people,” the secretary of state said.
“As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have formed will stand with Ukraine,” the Biden administration official added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “deeply grateful” for the $1.7 billion in military aid, noting that the money would help “maintain equipment previously provided by the United States.”
“Today in the Kharkiv region, we saw how this continued assistance can save and protect people’s lives from Russian aggression,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Most importantly, this assistance demonstrates American strength and leadership in the face of aggression and terrorism.”
“The stronger that leadership is, the more stable the world will be.”
