Attributed to Pentagon Press Secretary Todd Breasseale:
This afternoon, the Department of Defense (DoD) has announced $ 820 million in additional security aid for Ukraine. This includes an authorization for a presidential withdrawal of security assistance valued at up to $ 50 million, as well as $ 770 million in funds from the Security Assistance Initiative of Ukraine (USAI).
The PDA authorization is the fourteenth withdrawal of equipment from the DoD inventories for Ukraine that the Biden Administration has authorized since August 2021. The capabilities of this package include:
- Additional ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS).
Under the USAI, the DoD will provide Ukraine with critical capabilities to defend itself from Russian aggression. Included in this package:
- Two advanced national surface-to-air missile systems (NASAMS);
- Up to 150,000 155 mm artillery ammunition cartridges; i
- Four additional counter-artillery radars.
Unlike Presidential Drawdown, the USAI is an authority under which the United States acquires industry capabilities rather than delivering equipment extracted from DoD stocks. This announcement represents the start of a recruitment process to provide additional capabilities to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The United States has now pledged about $ 7.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Biden Administration, including about $ 6.9 billion since the start of the unprovoked invasion of Russia on February 24th. Since 2014, the United States has pledged more than $ 8.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
The United States continues to work with its allies and partners to equip Ukraine with capabilities to meet its evolving battlefield requirements. In particular, the DoD acknowledges Norway’s cooperation in enabling the historic deployment by the United States of modern air defense systems that will help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s brutal airstrikes.