U.S. President Joe Biden announced $225 million in aid for Kiev as he met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for talks in Paris.
"The United States will support you," Biden told Zelensky after the two attended highly symbolic D-Day celebrations in northern France on Thursday. Biden also expressed regret over the delay in Congress passing the new aid.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced the provision of additional security assistance to meet Ukraine's critical needs. This announcement is the fifty-ninth tranche of equipment that the Biden Administration has made available from DOD stockpiles to Ukraine since August 2021. This Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package, with an estimated value of $225 million, will provide Ukraine with additional capabilities to meet its most pressing battlefield needs.
Capabilities included in this announcement include:
- missiles for HAWK air defence systems
- Stinger anti-aircraft missiles
- ammunition for HIMARS artillery rocket systems
- 155-mm howitzers
- 155-mm and 105-mm artillery shells
- 81-mm mortars
- M113 armoured personnel carriers
- trailers for transporting heavy equipment
- Coastal and river patrol boats
- TOW missiles
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems
- small arms ammunition and grenades
- night vision devices
- spare parts
"The United States will continue to work with more than 50 allies and partners to ensure that Ukraine's brave defenders receive the critical capabilities needed to combat Russian aggression," the department added. | BGNES
