US President Biden Announces Increase Aid to Ukraine
The United States plans to announce more than $8 billion in military aid to Ukraine during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington today, Reuters reports, citing two US officials.
President Joe Biden's administration is currently in urgent talks with Congress to allow it to use $5.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine before 30 September, the end of the federal fiscal year, when the president's authority to withdraw weapons from the Pentagon's stockpile expires.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Joe Biden announced an increase in aid, with media reports of $8 billion in arms packages.
In particular, the Biden administration is in urgent talks with Congress to allow it to use $5.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine before 30 September, the end of the federal fiscal year, when the
The White House intends to notify Congress that it will move forward with the announcement of the arms withdrawal. The content of the package has not yet been decided, the officials said.
Earlier, it was also reported that the Biden administration is considering a backup plan to announce the supply plans for Ukraine, but with an extended delivery time for weapons and equipment, which would allow for a more gradual transfer of resources to Ukraine without violating the 30 September deadline.
The announcement scheduled for Thursday will be for $2.4 billion in assistance under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative programme, which allows the administration to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies rather than drawing from US stockpiles.
This assistance will include ammunition, anti-drone weapons, and materials to support ammunition production in Ukraine, one US official said.
The day before, on Wednesday, the US also announced a new military aid package worth $375 million to Ukraine.