The Biden administration announced last week that it will send another $600 million in military aid to Ukraine. The funding includes “arms, munitions, and equipment from U.S. Department of Defense inventories.”
Specifically, the U.S. will be sending Ukrainian fighters High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), night vision goggles, claymore mines, mine-clearing equipment, 105mm artillery rounds, and 155mm precision guided artillery rounds, among other equipment, according to a Pentagon press release.
“To meet Ukraine’s evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities,” the Pentagon said.
The aid was authorized under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to “sanction the transfer of excess weapons from U.S. stocks,” according to Reuters.
“With admirable grit and determination, the people of Ukraine are defending their homeland and fighting for their future,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “The capabilities we are delivering are carefully calibrated to make the most difference on the battlefield and strengthen Ukraine’s hand at the negotiating table when the time is right,” Blinken added.
According to The New York Times, Ukrainian and American officials say the regular announcements of new shipments from American inventories have given Ukraine’s senior commanders the confidence to plan complex simultaneous offensives.
The new round of funding comes on the heels of a $2.8 billion infusion announced earlier this month and nearly $3 billion announced in late August. The total amount of U.S. aid to Ukraine now stands at nearly $15.9 billion since President Joe Biden took office, reports the Associated Press. According to Blinken’s statement, this is the twenty-first time the U.S. has sent weapons to Ukraine.
Ukraine has scored a number of key victories in recent days, retaking several strategic towns earlier this month. Russia, however, continues its artillery and air strikes in eastern Ukraine.
Blinken said that the U.S. will support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”