On Thursday, the Biden administration announced what is believed to be its last military aid package for Ukraine, which is worth $500 million and includes support equipment for F-16 fighter jets, air defense munitions, and other equipment.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the new military aid at a meeting in Ramstein, Germany, a gathering known as the Ukraine Defense Contact group, which he has overseen since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
While Austin is leaving behind a raging proxy war and there’s no clear path to a Ukrainian military victory, he told the group that he was proud of his work.
“I am incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together. Over the past few years, we have moved heaven and earth to get Ukraine the security assistance that it needs,” Austin said.
“And together, we’ve committed more than $122 billion worth of security assistance and expanded factories around the world,” the secretary added.
Austin urged that military aid to Ukraine must continue amid uncertainty about how the incoming Trump administration will approach the conflict. “So we must not let up. That’s why I am announcing today another Presidential Drawdown Authority package, valued at approximately $500 million,” he said.
The new military aid is being provided in the form of the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows weapons to be shipped straight from US military stockpiles. According to a Pentagon press release, the arms package includes:
- AIM-7, RIM-7, and AIM-9M missiles for air defense
- Air-to-ground munitions
- Support equipment for F-16s
- Armored bridging systems
- Secure communications equipment
- Small arms and ammunition
- Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation
The Pentagon also released a fact sheet that said the Biden administration had committed a total of $65.9 billion in military equipment to Ukraine. Including other types of aid and Pentagon spending on troop deployments to Europe and the replenishment of US stockpiles, the Biden administration has spent at least $186 billion on the proxy war.
