US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
announced $6 billion in new military aid for Ukraine on Friday as Washington
rushes to fill gaps left by months of limited American assistance.
The package is the second this week, following another valued at $1 billion
that was announced just after US President Joe Biden signed a much-delayed bill
to provide new funding for Ukraine as it struggles to hold back Russian
advances.
"I'm... pleased to announce today an additional commitment of $6 billion
through our Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative," Austin told journalists,
saying it will allow the procurement of new capabilities for Kyiv from US
industry.
"This is the largest security assistance package we've committed to date,"
Austin said, adding that it will include air defense munitions, counter-drone
systems, artillery ammunition and maintenance and sustainment support.
The United States has been a key military backer of Ukraine, committing
more than $44 billion in security assistance since Russia launched its
full-scale invasion in February 2022.
But prior to this week, Washington had announced new aid for Ukraine on
just one other occasion this year, a $300 million package in March that was
only made possible by using money that the Pentagon had saved on other
purchases.
A squabbling Congress had not approved large-scale funding for Kyiv for
nearly a year and a half, but eventually took action starting last week after
months of acrimonious debate among lawmakers over how or even whether to help
Ukraine defend itself.
The US House of Representatives on April 20 approved legislation
authorizing $95 billion in aid funding, including $61 billion for Ukraine,
while the Senate passed the measure on Tuesday and Biden signed it into law the
following day.
