US President, Joe Biden has announced that he will provide Ukraine with military aid totalling nearly $8bn.
This came ahead of a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Biden announced the “surge in security assistance” for Ukraine, saying that the aid would be provided in two tranches of $5.5bn and $2.4bn, the package including the provision of Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) munitions to “enhance Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities.”
Biden asserted that assisting Ukraine had been “a top priority” of his term in office, announcing that $5.5bn in aid would be allocated before Monday’s end of the US fiscal year when his administration’s funding authority is set to expire.
He also announced another $2.4bn in aid under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the administration to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies rather than pull them from US stocks.
Additional assistance announced by the US President included an expansion of training provided by the Department of Defense to Ukrainian F-16 pilots, with plans to support an additional 18 pilots next year.
Additionally, Biden disclosed that the US would act to combat Russian sanctions evasion and money laundering, disrupting what he called “a global cryptocurrency network, in coordination with international partners”.
Moreover, he said that he would convene a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Germany next month to coordinate the efforts of more than 50 countries supporting Ukraine.
Aside Biden, Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee for presidential elections in November, at the White House.
Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has already turned down a request from the Ukrainian president for a meeting, having criticised the billions in aid granted “to a man who refused to make a deal”, at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Latest US Military Aid To Help Ukraine Achieve Victory
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the almost $8bn in military aid announced by the US will help his country achieve victory against Russia.
“We will use this assistance in the most effective and transparent way possible to achieve our main common goal: a victorious Ukraine, a just and lasting peace, and transatlantic security,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
In the post on X, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to President Joe Biden, US Congress “and its both parties, Republicans and Democrats, as well as the entire American people for today’s announcement of major US defence assistance for Ukraine totalling $7.9bn and sanctions against Russia.”
“On behalf of the Ukrainian people and our brave warriors on the frontlines, I thank our closest ally, the United States, for finding a way to allocate the remaining security assistance to Ukraine and ensure that the Presidential authority is not expired by the end of the US financial year.
“I am grateful to the United States for providing the items that are most critical to protecting our people. An additional Patriot air defence battery, other air defence capabilities and interceptors, drones, long-range missiles, and air-to-ground munitions, as well as funds to strengthen Ukraine’s defence industrial base.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
He also appreciated the decision to expand programs to train more Ukrainain pilots to fly F-16s, as well as the strong sanctions measures imposed to further limit Russia’s ability to fund its aggression against Ukraine.
“Ukraine and the United States remain close allies dedicated to defending freedom, human life, and shared security in Europe and beyond,” Zelenskyy said.
He added, “We have always valued the strong bipartisan support in the United States and among Americans for Ukraine’s just cause of defeating Russian aggression.”
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