WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States will provide an additional $425 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including additional air defense capability, the White House said on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky about his efforts to surge military aid to Kiev over the remainder of his term in office, the White House said.
“Today, the President announced a $425 million security assistance package for Ukraine that includes additional air defense capability, air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles, and critical munitions to meet Ukraine’s urgent needs,” the White House said in a readout of the call.
The capabilities in the announcement include additional munitions for NASAMS and HIMARS, RIM-7 missiles and support for air defense; Stinger anti-aircraft missiles; TOW missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; spare parts, services, training, and transportation; the Pentagon said in a separate statement.
In the coming months, the US will send Ukraine “hundreds of air defense interceptors, dozens of tactical air defense systems, additional artillery systems, significant quantities of ammunition, hundreds of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, and thousands of additional armored vehicles,” according to the White House readout.
In November, Biden will also host a virtual leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group to coordinate on additional assistance for Ukraine, the White House said.
Russia has on multiple occasions warned that arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the settlement and directly involve NATO countries in the conflict.
