US announces $200 million defense aid package for Ukraine
The United States pledged a new package of weapons, ammunition and other defense aid for Ukraine worth up to $200 million, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby announced on July 29.
The package is being provided to Kyiv under the presidential drawdown authority (PDA), which takes military equipment from existing U.S. military stockpiles, meaning that potential procurement-related delays will be limited.
This tranche includes air defense interceptors, munitions for rocket systems and artillery as well as anti-tank weapons.
In addition, the Pentagon announced an aid package using approximately $1.5 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds.
On top of funding to maintain equipment previously committed by Washington, the newly announced capabilities include ammunition for HIMARS, munitions for NASAMS, Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems, electronic warfare equipment, rounds as well as other weapons and equipment.
The U.S. Defense Department has identified another $2 billion worth of accounting errors in its estimations of military aid sent to Ukraine, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealed on July 25.
Due to the errors, the Defense Department can send a further $2 billion in weapons to Ukraine to cover the amount already approved by U.S. President Joe Biden.
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