US Announces New $400 Military Aid Package For Ukraine

The United States on Friday announced a new $400 million military aid package for Kyiv as Russia launched a surprise ground offensive in northeast Ukraine.

It is the third package for Ukraine in less than three weeks, following two in late April valued at a total of $7 billion as Washington seeks to make up for months in which it provided only limited assistance to Kyiv.

In a memo released by the White House, President Joe Biden authorized "up to $400 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Ukraine."

The memo did not provide details on the aid package, which was announced the same day that Russia upped the pressure on Kyiv with a ground offensive into Ukraine's Kharkiv region, which President Volodymyr Zelensky said sparked a "fierce battle."

The United States has been a key military backer of Ukraine, committing more than $44 billion in weapons, ammunition and other security assistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

But prior to April 24, Washington had announced new aid for Ukraine on just one other occasion this year, a $300 million package in March that was only made possible by using money that the Pentagon had saved on other purchases.

Congress had not approved large-scale funding for Kyiv for nearly a year and a half, but eventually took action after months of acrimonious debate among lawmakers over how or even whether to help Ukraine defend itself.

The US House of Representatives on April 20 approved legislation authorizing $95 billion in aid funding, including $61 billion for Ukraine, while the Senate passed the measure on April 23 and Biden signed it into law the following day.

Washington announced a $1 billion package of military assistance drawn from American stocks shortly after Biden signed the legislation, and followed that up a few days later with $6 billion in security aid that will be procured from the defense industry.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)