US announces $325 million in new security assistance for Ukraine

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced via press statement on Sept. 21 that the U.S. has authorized a new round of security assistance for Ukraine worth $325 million.

The package includes $128 million in new weapons and equipment and $197 in military aid under previously authorized drawdowns.

"The arms and equipment include additional air defense munitions to help strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses against aerial assaults from Russia now and in the coming winter, when Russia is likely to renew its attacks against Ukrainian critical infrastructure," Blinken said.

Blinken also said the package would include additional cluster munitions to aid the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The U.S. first provided Ukraine with controversial cluster munitions in July 2023, after initially refusing.

As expected, the assistance package will not include ATACMS, the U.S.-made long-range cruise missiles.

Blinken's announcement arrives as President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C.

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The Kyiv IndependentIgor Kossov