The United States reveals a $400 million military aid plan for Ukraine.
The package contains the arms Ukraine has long requested, including ammunition for the Patriot missile system, HIMAR systems and their ammo, Stinger anti-air missiles, 155mm artillery rounds, Bradley fighting vehicles, and MRAPs, along with other weaponry.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared in a statement, "President Biden has emphasized that the U.S. and the international alliance we've formed will endure in supporting Ukraine's fight for its liberty."
This announcement marks the second PDAs (Presidential Drawdown Authority) package since Biden signed the much-debated national security supplementary funding bill, allocating $60 billion for Ukraine.
Last month, mere moments after Biden signed the bill, the U.S. proclaimed a $1 billion PDAs package for Ukraine. Biden asserted then that the sending of these armaments to Ukraine would begin "in the next few hours." Two days later, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin publicized a monumental $6 billion long-term aid package to purchase new equipment for Ukraine.
The $6 billion gift constitutes the largest amount the U.S. has declared. This $6 billion bundle falls under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which contrasts with the PDAs in that it procures fresh weaponry through contracting with the U.S. defense industry rather than from existing U.S. stockpiles.
Certain equipment from a PDA can show up within days of the announcement, while USAI-funded support is slower to materialize; Austin revealed at that time that it would "move as fast as we can to give them the capability as fast as industry can produce."
Nonetheless, officials assert that Russia is profiting from the delay in shipping arms to Ukraine by intensifying its attacks. The postponement is notably amplified considering the months-long delay in aid while Congress debated the supplementary budget.
On Wednesday evening, Ukrainian officials claimed Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Ukraine, attacking energy infrastructure. On Friday, a military source informed CNN that Russian forces infiltrated at least a kilometer inside northern Ukraine in an onslaught on a border town on Thursday night.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Friday, "Russia escalated a new series of counteroffensive actions in northern Kharkiv region. Our troops, brigades, and artillery confronted them. Our military and command anticipated their arrival and responded with artillery fire. Violent battles are now ongoing in this area. ... As of now, we've arrested the enemy's advance with artillery fire."
[Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.] (CNN).
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Source: edition.cnn.com
