White House announces new arms aid for Ukraine

13/12/2024 6:12

The Biden administration

announced another package of weapons aid for Ukraine on Tuesday,

without revealing the amount or contents of the package.



White House spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. would

continue to provide additional packages for Ukraine "right up to

the end of this administration."



Washington said 10 days ago it would send Ukraine $725

million worth of missiles, ammunition, anti-personnel mines and

other weapons as President Joe Biden's outgoing administration

seeks to bolster Kyiv in its war with Russian invaders before

leaving office in January.



Thursday's package, which also uses the Presidential

Drawdown Authority (PDA) to rush weapons from U.S. stocks to the

front lines, was expected to be worth about $500 million and

include ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems

(HIMARS), according to a person briefed on the matter.



The person cautioned that the amount and contents were in

flux through Thursday afternoon.



After Thursday, about $5.6 billion worth of PDA remains

available to Biden without requiring congressional approval.



Moscow's troops have been capturing village after village in

Ukraine's east, part of a drive to seize the industrial Donbas

region, while Russian air strikes target a hobbled Ukrainian

energy grid as winter sets in.