U.S. to provide Ukraine with an additional $2 billion in military aid

The United States is expected to announce a $2 billion Ukraine military aid package on Friday.

Such plans were confirmed by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Reuters reports.

The provision of new aid will take place on the anniversary of the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“We’re going to continue to look at what is necessary, and make sure that we provide what is necessary that Ukraine has what it needs to succeed on the battlefield,” Sullivan said.

Unlike previous drawdown packages, which are pulled directly from US weapons stocks to Ukraine, this time the weapons will be purchased or contracted from the industry, CNN reports.

This will take place under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

It is noted that the new package of military aid “will finance purchases and conclusion of new contracts for the production of weapons for Ukraine.”

“Though the aid can take far longer to arrive in Ukraine, it also signals a longer-term commitment to providing assistance to Kyiv in what the US sees as a protracted conflict against Russia,” CNN reports.

The new package will include the purchases and production of the following military equipment:

• HIMARS rockets
• 155m artillery ammunition
• multiple types of drones (UAVS)
• Counter UAV equipment
• Mine clearing equipment
• Secure communications equipment
• Funding for training and maintenance

As previously reported, United States Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said that the United States may need more than a year to deliver M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Terms and the delivery ways are yet to be worked out.

According to Wormuth, the Army will present the options to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who will then share them with Biden, who will make the final decision.

The White House announced the delivery of more than 30 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in January of this year, but almost immediately US officials warned that the timeline for receiving them could be long.