The United States pledged a new package of weapons, ammunition and other defense aid for Ukraine worth $250 million, the Pentagon announced on Sept. 6.
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 RIM-7 missiles and support for air defense, Stinger missiles, 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles, as well as Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems.
Washington also pledged to provide Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, ammunition for HIMARS, M113 armored personnel carriers, and other military assistance.
The announcement of the new aid package comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky is attending the Ukraine Contact Defense Group meeting held in Germany in person to lobby for faster aid deliveries, namely air defense and long-range arms.
The new tranche was revealed amid worries that roughly $6 billion in the presidential drawdown authority (PDA), the chief tool for supplying defense articles to Kyiv, may expire by the end of the month.
Reuters reported that the Biden administration is leading urgent talks with U.S. Congress to save the funds before the looming deadline.
Owen Racer
