$400m US Military Aid Package Includes Requested Weapons for Ukraine

The United States has announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine, which includes weapons that Ukraine has been requesting, such as Patriot missile system munitions, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Stinger anti-air missiles, 155mm artillery rounds, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs). This is the second Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package since President Joe Biden signed a $60 billion national security supplemental securing funding for Ukraine. Last month, Biden announced a $1 billion PDA package to Ukraine, with shipments beginning “in the next few hours.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also announced a $6 billion long-term investment package to purchase new equipment for Ukraine, which is being funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). While some equipment under the PDA can arrive within days of the announcement, support under USAI takes longer due to the need to contract with the US defense industry to purchase new equipment. Officials have warned that Russia is exploiting the lag time between the announcement of the packages and their arrival in Ukraine, and is stepping up its attacks while Ukraine waits for assistance to arrive. Ukrainian authorities have reported Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and a Ukrainian military source has confirmed that Russian forces have penetrated at least one kilometer inside northern Ukraine in an assault on a border town. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that his military and military command were prepared for these attacks and have successfully repelled the enemy with artillery fire.