US to pledge additional $275 million for Ukraine’s artillery and ammunition

The United States has decided to give Ukraine an extra $275 million in military assistance on Friday in response to Russia’s threat to attack Kharkiv. Two US officials said this.

This will be the fourth time the United States is giving military help to Ukraine since Congress approved a foreign aid bill last month. The Biden administration has promised to provide weapons regularly and get them to Ukraine’s military quickly.

The package has rocket systems and artillery rounds, as said by two US officials. More things in the aid package are anti-tank weapons like Javelin and AT-4, landmines, vehicles, guns, and bullets for the guns. This was said by an official. Both officials talked in secret to give information about the aid package before it was announced to the public.

Every month, around 50 defense leaders from Europe and other places meet on Mondays to work together to give more military help to Ukraine. At the most recent meeting, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Ukraine is facing a tough situation because Russia is attacking Kharkiv, which is the second biggest city in Ukraine. He promised to keep moving weapons every week.

Russia has tried to use Ukraine’s lack of soldiers and weapons to their advantage while Ukraine waits for more help from the US, which was taking a long time to come because of delays in Congress. The Ukrainian military was forced to retreat in some areas, while Russia attacked their power grid and civilian areas.

In the month after President Joe Biden approved a $95 billion aid package, $61 billion of which is for Ukraine, the US has announced and started sending almost $1.7 billion in weapons from military storage.

It also said it would provide $6 billion in funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. This money is used to pay for contracts with the defense industry that last a long time. This means that the weapons might not arrive for many months or even years.

The US has given almost $51 billion in military help to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022 with the latest package.