US prepares $988 million aid package for Ukraine - Reuters
US prepares $988 million aid package for Ukraine (photo: Getty Images)
The United States will provide Ukraine with a new defense assistance package totaling $988 million. The tranche is already being prepared and includes missiles and drones, reports Reuters.
The Western media have read a document on the additional weapons and equipment for Ukraine, which the United States is going to provide as part of its support to counter Russia's large-scale military aggression.
It is not specified what types of missiles and drones are included in this package.
It is noted that this new package “nearly halves the available $2.21 billion remaining in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)”.
The preparation of additional assistance comes amid an attempt by the administration of current US President Joe Biden to “commit to buying weapons from industry, rather than pulling from US weapons stocks.”
US assistance to Ukraine
In early July, the US Department of Defense reaffirmed Washington's commitment to continue military assistance to Ukraine.
Thus, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said that the presidential aid packages and USAI would remain active until the end of the current administration's term.
On November 15, the Pentagon also noted that the department would send arms shipments to Ukraine on a weekly basis. This is necessary in order to have time to allocate the remaining aid to Kyiv from Washington.
A couple of days earlier, US Department of Defense spokesperson Patrick Ryder said that after the US Congress approved $60 billion in aid to Ukraine in April 2024, the United States had delivered 83% of the promised ammunition and 67% of air defense equipment to Ukraine.
As the Pentagon noted at the time, in terms of funding, the US Department of Defense has a total of $7.1 billion in PDA (i.e., Pentagon stockpiles - ed.). Another $2.2 billion is available under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program, Ryder explained.
