Biden administration announces new $1.7 billion lethal aid package for Ukraine

CNN:  The Biden administration announced on Monday a new lethal aid package for Ukraine totaling about $1.7 billion and largely consisting of missiles and ammunition for missile, artillery and air defense systems the US has previously provided to Ukraine.

The US is committing $1.5 billion in new weapons and equipment to Ukraine through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which will include “capabilities to augment Ukraine’s air defenses, fires, and anti-tank weapons, as well as funding to sustain equipment previously committed by the United States,” according to a Defense Department news release.

The Defense Department is also sending Ukraine up to $200 million worth of weapons and equipment directly from US Department of Defense stockpiles via Presidential Drawdown Authority, which includes “air defense interceptors; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; and anti-tank weapons,” according to the news release.

In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the assistance would be delivered “as quickly as possible to bolster Ukraine’s defense of its territory and its people.”

“As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine,” Blinken said.

The administration says this is their 20th “USAI package and sixty-second tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine and since August 2021,” according to the release.

The USAI package includes missiles for Ukraine’s National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), a key air defense platform.

It also includes ammunition for Ukraine’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a weapons platform that Ukraine has recently been using to strike effectively in Russian territory.

The package also includes artillery ammunition, one of Ukraine’s top requests.