President Biden on Thursday announced a massive military aid package for Ukraine worth $7.9 billion ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
“Today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war,” Biden said in a statement announcing the aid.
He is authorizing the use of $5.5 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which allows the US to send weapons straight from military stockpiles. If the PDA funds hadn’t been used, they would have expired on September 30, the end of the 2024 fiscal year.
Biden said he wanted to “ensure this authority does not expire, so that my Administration can fully utilize the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of US equipment for Ukraine and then replenish US stockpiles.”
Biden also announced $2.4 billion in military aid using the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which allows the Pentagon to purchase weapons for Ukraine. The Pentagon said in a press release that the USAI package will include air defenses, air-to-ground munitions, drones, counter-drone systems, and other equipment.
A day earlier, the Pentagon announced a separate PDA package worth $375 million, making the total military aid pledged to Ukraine this week at $8.275 billion. Biden said that Ukraine would be receiving Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOW), glide bombs with a range of about 70 miles that can be fired by Ukraine’s small fleet of F-16s. US officials said the JSOW will be packed with cluster bombs, which are banned by over 100 countries due to their indiscriminate nature and history of killing and maiming civilians.
Biden said Ukraine will also receive more Patriot missile defense systems and that the US would expand the training of Ukrainian soldiers on F-16 fighter jets. “Through these actions, my message is clear: The United States will provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win this war,” the president said.
Zelensky is set to present Biden with his so-called “victory plan,” but US officials told The Wall Street Journal that the administration doesn’t think he has a clear strategy. According to media reports, the plan is essentially a framework for more military aid.
Zelensky is also pushing hard for the US to support long-range strikes with NATO weapons inside Russian territory. Moscow has warned that the step would mean NATO is at war with Russia, and President Vladimir Putin has ordered changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine as a warning to the West.
