A $275 million military aid package unveiled by the Biden administration on Friday will provide Ukraine with rockets, artillery rounds and other “urgently needed” weaponry and equipment to hold off Russian advances in the war-torn country’s northeast.
The package is the fifth tranche of aid for Kyiv since Congress approved $60 billion in additional funding last month.
It includes ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds; Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; precision aerial munitions; demolitions munitions; and anti-armor mines, among other equipment.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the firepower heading Kyiv’s way as “significant” and “urgently needed” to defend against a Russian offensive near Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.
“Assistance from previous packages has already made it to the front lines, and we will move this new assistance as quickly as possible so the Ukrainian military can use it to defend their territory and protect the Ukrainian people,” Blinken said in a statement.
“As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine in its defense of its freedom,” he added.
The package also includes small arms and small arms ammunition; grenades; demolitions munitions; anti-armor mines; tactical vehicles; body armor; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protective equipment and spare parts.
The weapons are being sent through the president’s drawdown authority, which pulls from existing Defense Department stockpiles.
It is the 58th shipment of military equipment provided to Ukraine from DoD inventories since August 2021.
“I am grateful to Joe Biden, US Congress and its both parties, as well as the American people for the new military aid package announced today,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.
“This package is critical right now, as the enemy intensifies attacks along the frontline,” he added. “Today in Kharkiv, I witnessed firsthand the importance of strengthening our warriors in order to protect our people, our cities, and our communities.”
In his daily address, Zelensky said the Ukrainian military has “managed to take combat control of the border area” near Kharkiv “where the Russian occupiers have entered.”
He said he toured a printing facility in Kharkiv bombed by Russian troops on Thursday, an attack in which seven employees were killed and 21 were injured.
“Freedom is the value both of our nations hold dear. To protect it, we require continued strong support from the United States and other allies,” Zelensky said.
The US has provided Ukraine roughly $51 billion in military aid since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
