On 21 September, the United States authorized a new $325 million military aid package for Ukraine, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.
According to the statement, the assistance package includes $128 million worth of US arms and equipment from Department of Defense stocks and $197 million in arms and equipment previously approved.
The military aid package is the 47th provided by the United States since August 2021. It contains artillery ammunition, anti-armor capabilities, Javelin missiles, and cluster munitions. Specifically, it provides additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and missiles for air defense.
“This package includes additional capabilities to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses. Dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) which are helping Ukraine on the battlefield, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment to meet Ukraine’s critical needs and to help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression,” said in the US Department of Defense’s statement.
In addition, President Biden said that the first Abrams tanks would arrive in Ukraine next week.
“Russia is shelling grain silos in Ukraine and separating families by abducting thousands of Ukrainian children. Today, I agreed on a new security assistance package for Ukraine that includes more artillery, more shells, more tanks – next week, the first American tanks will be delivered to Ukraine,” Biden said.
On 19 September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the United States.
On 21 September, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US senators and leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties and met with US military leaders in the Pentagon.
This is Zelenskyy’s second visit to Washington since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. This visit of the President of Ukraine to the United States comes as the US Congress is considering the White House’s request for an additional $24 billion in aid to Ukraine.
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