L’announcement was strongly anticipated, it is now official. US President Joe Biden announced nearly three billion dollars in new military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday (August 24th) as the country, which has been fighting the Russian invasion for six months, marks its independence day.
“The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the struggle to defend their sovereignty. As part of this commitment, I am proud to announce our largest tranche of security assistance to date: approximately $2.98 billion in weapons and equipment,” Biden said in a statement.
This is the largest package of American military aid since the start of the war and will allow kyiv to acquire new weapons or finance training or operations. The money comes from a Pentagon fund which can be used for immediate operations or for the acquisition of armaments. This envelope is different from another fund that allows President Joe Biden to order the immediate transfer to Ukraine of arms, material and equipment from existing stocks.
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Last Friday, the Pentagon announced a tranche of military aid to Ukraine from this fund, amounting to $775 million. This new tranche of aid included additional missiles for US Himars precision artillery systems, which have “changed the game on the battlefield”, said a senior US Department of Defense official.