Biden announces new $125 million aid package for Kyiv ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day
U.S. President Joe Biden held a call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 23 and announced a new aid package on the eve of the Independence Day of Ukraine.
The Associated Press reported the day before, citing unnamed American officials, that the U.S. was preparing to announce a military aid package worth about $125 million for Ukraine.
Biden said the package would include air defense missiles, counter-drone equipment and anti-armor missiles, ammunition for front-line soldiers, and mobile rocket systems, according to the White House's statement.
"Make no mistake: Russia will not prevail in this conflict. The independent people of Ukraine will prevail – and the United States, our allies, and our partners will continue to stand with them every step of the way," Biden said.
The Pentagon later released a statement confirming that the package was worth an estimated $125 million and contained HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) missiles, Javelins, anti-armor weaponry, counter-drone and counter-electronic systems, anti-tank missiles, and 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells.
The new package will also include ambulances, small arms ammunition, demolitions equipment, and medical equipment.
On June 1, the U.S. gave Ukraine permission to use American-supplied weapons, including HIMARS rockets, to strike targets in Russia located near the border with Kharkiv Oblast, and over the past months, Ukraine's armed forces have used U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
Washington still prohibits Ukraine from using ATACMS and other long-range U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper inside Russia, according to U.S. officials.
The new military package will come from the Presidential Drawdown Authority, a mechanism that allows the president to deliver weaponry to allies from current U.S. stockpiles.
