By Natalie Venegas
The United States announced on Monday it will provide Ukraine with $1.7 billion in military assistance amid the Eastern European nation’s ongoing war with Russia, according to the Associated Press citing U.S. officials.
This latest aid package allocates $1.5 billion for long-term contracts under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and an additional $200 million for immediate military aid sourced from Pentagon stockpiles, the AP reported.
Included in the latest U.S. military aid are air defense interceptors, rockets, artillery, and anti-tank weapons, which will be supplied through presidential drawdown authority, allowing the Pentagon to directly transfer weapons from its stockpiles. Specifically, the air defense arsenal will include munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
Additionally, the U.S. will supply secure communications systems, funding for commercial satellite imagery services and demolition equipment.
While the Pentagon said that long-term contracted weapons would enhance Ukraine’s air defenses and provide additional capabilities, the Department of Defense (DOD) refrained from specifying which systems would be delivered immediately through the presidential drawdown authority and which would be acquired through contracts, which would potentially delay the arrival of the systems to the front lines by months or even years, the AP reported.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House and the U.S. DOD via email for comment.
The announcement comes shortly after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) summit in Washington, D.C., where alliance members pledged to bolster support for Ukraine amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and heightened tensions between NATO and the Kremlin, prompting alliance leaders to increasingly warn of direct conflict with Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials have repeatedly threatened nuclear escalation against Kyiv and its Western partners since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to the AP, White House national security spokesman John Kirby stated on Monday that the package includes “key capabilities for the fight,” adding that the latest aid marks the ninth military aid package for Ukraine since April when Congress approved supplemental funding for aid to Kyiv.
While speaking on previous concerns that Russia might “achieve a strategic breakthrough on the battlefield by the summer,” Kirby emphasized that the congressional funding has “fortified and Ukrainian forces have continued to fight bravely and repel Russia’s advances.”
The recent military aid comes after NATO allies have also established a new program to ensure sustained military aid to Ukraine and proclaimed its trajectory toward NATO membership as “irreversible,” the AP reported.
Earlier this month, NATO moved toward a major boost in arms production as it signed a nearly $700 million contract enabling member countries to produce more anti-aircraft Stinger missiles.
The FIM-92 Stinger is a portable surface-to-air missile system by Raytheon that can be utilized by ground troops or mounted on vehicles to provide short-range defense against aerial threats. The system, first produced in 1978 and upgraded many times, helps troops—without immediate air support—target an enemy aircraft. The Stinger was among the first U.S. weapons delivered to Ukraine following the war.
Since the war began, the U.S. has provided more than $55.4 billion in weapons and security assistance to Ukraine. Other NATO countries and international partners have collectively contributed about $50 billion in security aid, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, an independent research group based in Germany.
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