Official: U.S. to announce new military aid package for Ukraine ‘soon’

U.S. National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said on Jan. 4 that Washington would soon announce a new aid package for Ukraine. 

According to Kirby, the new help could include additional HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), the supply of which was a game changer in Ukraine's fight against the Russian aggression. 

“(The military aid) included HIMARS in the past, and it could very well include more HIMARS going forward,” Kirby said.

Washington announced a $1.85 billion package of military aid to Ukraine on Dec. 21, which includes the first long-sought Patriot air defense system.

The announcement occurred before President Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. Joe Biden on his first visit abroad since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24.

The U.S. has already disbursed more than $20 billion of military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration in January 2021.

In 2022, the Biden administration and the U.S. Congress pledged nearly $50 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute.