Before Ukraine’s Independence Day, US President Joseph Biden spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced a new aid package. This is stated on the White House website.
The package, which will be officially announced later, includes air defence missiles to protect Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, anti-drone equipment and anti-tank missiles, ammunition, and mobile missile systems.
The US State Department website states that this assistance includes:
- equipment and ammunition to combat unmanned aerial systems,
- additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS),
- 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells,
- Tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles (TOW);
- javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems;
- ammunition for small arms,
- ambulances,
- equipment for explosive ordnance and ammunition,
- spare parts,
- medical equipment,
- auxiliary equipment,
- services,
- training and transport.
The assistance package is provided under the US President’s authority to withdraw weapons, ammunition and equipment from US military warehouses to meet the short-term needs of the Ukrainian Defence Forces. This means that the weapons will be taken from the Pentagon’s warehouses and delivered to Ukraine much faster.
Biden also mentioned new sanctions against Russia.
He also noted that the United States, together with the G7, is taking “unprecedented steps” to make Russia pay for the damage caused to Ukraine through the allocation of $50 billion in loans secured by the profits from frozen Russian assets.