WASHINGTON– The United States announced Monday a new military aid package for Ukraine worth some $1.7 billion, including anti-aircraft defense munitions and artillery that kyiv has urgently requested to confront a new Russian offensive.
At least $200 million worth of equipment is already available in the U.S. military stockpile and will be quickly sent to the battlefield, while another $1.5 billion is in new orders that will take longer to reach Ukraine, the Defense Department said in a statement.
The military aid package includes anti-aircraft defense ammunition of different types: artillery shells, ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers and various types of anti-tank weapons, among others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that he was “deeply grateful” to his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, Congress and the American people for their support.
The announced aid includes items that “are essential to strengthening Ukrainian defenses, as well as funding to maintain equipment previously offered by the United States,” he added.
On Monday, Zelensky visited special forces in the border region of Kharkiv, where the Russian military launched a surprise ground offensive in May but failed to make significant progress.
The United States is a key military ally of Ukraine and has pledged more than $55 billion in weapons, ammunition and security assistance since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
Source: With information from AFP.
