US to provide Ukraine with additional $375 million in military aid, Reuters reports
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The U.S. will provide Ukraine with an additional package of $375 million in military aid, Reuters reported on Sept. 20, citing two unnamed U.S. government officials.
The announcement of the package is expected sometime next week, the officials said.
Foreign military assistance is crucial for Kyiv as the all-out war with Russia stretches past two and half years, with Russian forces pushing hard in Ukraine's east.
If confirmed, it would be the largest tranche of military aid the U.S. has sent Ukraine since May earlier this year, when a package worth $275 million was delivered.
The officials said the package would likely include patrol boats, ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), artillery shells, spare parts, and other military equipment. The exact quantities were not specified.
The previous day, Reuters reported that Congress and the administration of President Joe Biden are close to an agreement on a one-year extension of $5.8 billion in military aid for Ukraine before it expires at the end of September.
After the House of Representatives failed to pass a Republican-backed spending bill on Sept. 18 that did not include the PDA extension, the Democratic-led Senate said it would prepare a new bill to avert a shutdown.
The sources told Reuters that the Senate bill should include the prolongation of the Ukraine aid funds. It remains unclear whether Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who delayed a $61 billion aid bill for Kyiv for months earlier this year, will support it.
The $61 billion assistance package was eventually passed in April, allocating some $7.8 billion to the PDA and allowing the release of a number of defense aid tranches since then.
