Biden Unveils New $400 Million Aid Package For Ukraine

The Biden Administration unveiled Friday its second allocation of military aid to Ukraine since the president signed a $95 billion foreign aid package, $60 million of which will go towards Ukraine.

The package includes a number of weapons Ukraine has been asking for, including Patriot missile system munitions, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMAR) systems and ammunition, Stinger anti-air missiles, 155mm artillery rounds, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), among other equipment.

“As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine in its defense of its freedom,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The latest package marks the second Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package since President Joe Biden signed the massive foreign aid package earlier this year.

Biden had previously authorized a $6 billion package under the new bill, which will include funding for the beleaguered nation for a number of years.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that some equipment released under the PDA will arrive within days, while other packages will take longer. Austin stated that the Pentagon is working to “move as fast as we can to get them the capability as fast as industry can produce.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announces $6 billion long-term military aid package for Ukraine, the largest to date https://t.co/YHg8X2bFcb

— CNN (@CNN) April 26, 2024

The latest package comes just a day after Russia launched its largest cross-border operation since the start of the war. Russian forces advanced not far from Ukraine’s second most populous city of Kharkov, where they seized territory and took a number of Ukrainian soldiers prisoner. The Russian Army has also recorded marginal gains along the frontline in Donetsk, where much of the fighting has been focused in 2023 and 2024.

To date, the United States has provided more than $100 billion in military and humanitarian aid since the war began in 2022.