This would bring the total value of US military assistance to Kyiv to more than $55.7 billion since February 2022.
The US government is ready to provide Ukraine with $125 million worth of additional weapons and ammunition, the Associated Press reported, citing unnamed officials. According to the media outlet, the new package could be formally announced later on Friday, on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Kiev sent thousands of troops along with dozens of pieces of military equipment into Russia’s Kursk region in a surprise incursion earlier this month. Ukrainian officials said the main goal of the offensive was to divert Russian forces from other areas along the frontline. However, Moscow responded by pursuing the intruders while simultaneously increasing pressure in Donbass.
In its Thursday report, the AP said the new package would include air defense missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelins and several other types of anti-armor rockets, 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, as well as anti-drone and anti-electronic warfare systems and other equipment.
The weapons will reportedly come directly from Pentagon stockpiles through the US president’s withdrawal authority, meaning they can be delivered more quickly.
The AP estimated that this latest package, if confirmed, would bring the total value of US military assistance to Ukraine to more than $55.7 billion since February 2022.
The article also noted that Washington apparently approved this latest shipment, despite not yet being fully aware of Kiev’s operation on Russian soil.
Speaking on Thursday, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said “We are still working with Ukraine on how this fits into their strategic objectives on the battlefield itself.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Defense Department said in a statement that it would send Kiev $125 million in military aid, consisting largely of the same systems and equipment. In late July, Washington allocated a larger batch of weapons and ammunition, worth about $1.7 billion.
Earlier this year, military assistance to Kiev was suspended for several months amid political infighting between congressional Republicans and Democrats; its problems were finally resolved with a foreign aid package in April.
GOP nominee and former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed plans to radically reduce military aid to Ukraine if elected. He has also promised to end the conflict within 24 hours of returning to office.