U.S. announces billions of dollars in new aid to Ukraine

DThe U.S. government has pledged billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine to fend off Russia’s war of aggression. U.S. President Joe Biden announced in Washington about $3 billion (about 3 billion euros) in aid to Kyiv.

“This will give Ukraine access to air defense systems, artillery systems and ammunition, unmanned air defense systems and radars to be able to defend itself for a long time,” Biden said. Russia started the war against its neighbor six months ago today. Ukraine also celebrated the 31st anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union on Wednesday.

Biden congratulated Ukraine on the anniversary. It shows that “Ukraine is proud to be a sovereign and independent country – and will continue to be”. The United States is determined to support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to defend their sovereignty.

In recent months, the US has launched various aid packages to Ukraine on a large scale and rapidly. Just last Friday, the U.S. government announced that it would provide Kyiv with about $775 million (about 777 million euros) in additional military aid. As a result, total U.S. military support for Ukraine has grown to $10.6 billion (about 10.6 billion euros) since Biden took office. Much of the aid has been flowing since the war began in late February.

So far, U.S. support has primarily focused on delivering weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainian frontline as quickly as possible. Previous U.S. deliveries included some heavy weapons such as howitzers and multiple rocket launchers. With the new commitment, Biden is now sticking to his focus on strengthening Ukraine’s military over the long term.

The United States has poured huge sums of money into Ukraine. In May, the US Congress approved a fund of about $40 billion (€40 billion) for this purpose. About half of the total went to the defense sector. Among other things, there are billions of dollars in the budget to replenish U.S. stocks of military equipment destined for Ukraine. Other funds are earmarked for humanitarian aid to refugees from Ukraine.