The White House has allocated approximately $1.7 billion in new weapons and military aid for Ukraine.
White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby announced a $200 million weapons package during a press call on Monday morning. This package is being provided under President Joe Biden’s drawdown authority.
The Department of Defense (DOD) also unveiled an additional $1.5 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. According to the department, this funding will support Ukraine in maintaining the weapons systems previously provided by the United States.
The DOD stated that the $200 million weapons package will include new shipments of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, short and medium-range air defense munitions, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells, 120 mm mortar rounds, anti-tank missile launchers and missiles, small arms, explosives and demolition equipment, communications gear, electronic warfare tools, and various spare parts and maintenance equipment.
This new package of weapons and funding for Ukraine comes from the roughly $61 billion that Congress allocated in April.
“Since the national security supplemental passed Congress in late April, President Biden and the United States government has delivered for Ukraine,” Kirby stated.
“The president has authorized nine security assistance packages since late April, and the men* and women of our armed forces have been working around the clock to get those weapons and that equipment into Ukraine as quickly as possible,” he added.
Mr. Kirby said the aid has strengthened Ukrainian defenses and alleviated concerns about a major Russian strategic breakthrough on the battlefield.
While battlefield reports indicate that Russian forces are making slow progress, the White House spokesman noted that these forces are incurring “extraordinary costs” in personnel losses for “minimal gain.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. government has allocated approximately $174 billion in aid to Ukraine and its European allies and partners.
Other members of NATO have supported Ukraine throughout the conflict. Earlier this month, NATO announced that it has secured commitments from across the alliance to provide an additional $40 billion in funding for Ukraine over the next year.
Last week, the European Union transferred $1.6 billion to Ukraine, using funds from frozen Russian assets.
“The Biden–Harris administration will continue to work together with more than 50 allies and partners in the global coalition that we’ve assembled to help Ukraine prevail against Russia’s aggression,” Kirby said on Monday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have recently shown some openness to more direct talks with Russia. This shift may mark a reversal from a 2022 decree by Zelenskyy that barred Ukrainian government representatives from communicating with Russia in any capacity while President Putin remains in power.
The Russian government has requested clarification on whether Ukrainian officials are proposing discussions to end the fighting and what conditions they might set for such negotiations.
