Biden administration approves $275 million security assistance package for Ukraine.
The latest package includes 80,000 rounds of ammunition, air defenses, around 150 generators, high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) ambulances, and medical equipment, the Pentagon said.
Also, the U.S. will send to Ukraine additional ammunition for High-Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (HIMARS).
“Thankful to President Joe Biden for another security aid package. And for unwavering leading U.S. support in our fight against Russian aggression,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter.
Ukraine has so far received 20 HIMARS from the U.S., with 18 more to be delivered over the next few years as part of a $1 billion U.S. arms package.
The Ukrainian military has been using the systems for precise strikes on Russia’s military ammunition depots and supply routes deep into Russian-occupied territories.
The GPS-guided rockets of the HIMARS system, able to hit targets at long range with pinpoint accuracy, have been credited with turning the tide of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. has provided more than $19 billion in aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in February, according to the Defense Department.
On the previous day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDDA), which includes an additional $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine – an increase of $500 million over U.S. President Joe Biden’s request earlier this year.
