Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands in front of a Patriot air defense missile system during a visit to a military training area in Germany on June 11, 2024. (Jens Buettner/dpa via AP)
The U.S. will provide another $2.3 billion in military aid for Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, interceptors and munitions, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin indicated early Tuesday that an aid package would be announced soon as Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with him at the Pentagon.
“Make no mistake, Ukraine is not alone, and the United States will never waver in our support,” Austin said. “Alongside some 50 allies and partners, we’ll continue to provide critical capabilities that Ukraine needs to push back Russian aggression today and to deter Russian aggression tomorrow.”
Austin said the aid will be made possible by the presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Defense Department to take weapons from its stocks and send them more quickly to Ukraine. Included in the aid package are Patriot and other air-defense interceptors, anti-tank weapons and munitions.
But Pentagon officials on Tuesday would not say when the aid will be officially announced or when it will be delivered. Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, only said, “Soon.”
“We will have this package out on the street soon as we continue to try to rush security assistance to [Ukraine],” he told reporters later in the day during a news briefing.
With the latest $2.3 billion, the U.S. has committed to more than $53.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
“With that support, we have stopped Russia, stopped the aggression toward people, toward our values, national interests,” Umerov said in thanking Austin for the support.
Austin said Ukraine continues to be locked into a relentless fight with Russia, and Russia is intensifying its bombardment of Ukrainian cities and civilians.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin greets Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon. (Alexander Kubitza/Department of Defense)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia had dropped more than 800 powerful glide bombs in Ukraine in the last week alone, The Associated Press reported.
Zelenskyy urged national leaders to relax restrictions on the use of Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia, stating Ukraine needs the “necessary means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, including Russian combat aircraft, wherever they are.”
Austin did not say Tuesday whether the restrictions would be relaxed but told Umerov that the two would discuss “more ways to meet Ukraine’s immediate security needs and to build a future force to ward off more Russian aggression.”
Ryder said the U.S. policy on the use of long-range weapons for an offensive strike into Russia “has not changed.” Those weapons, he said, are for use inside Ukraine sovereign territory.
Austin and Umerov met as NATO allies prepare for next week’s summit in Washington of alliance members. The members are expected to coordinate future security aid and training for Ukraine’s armed forces.
In the past, NATO officials have said it would be impossible for Ukraine to become an alliance member while it is at war, with President Joe Biden telling CNN such a move would turn NATO into a combatant in the conflict.
But Austin said Tuesday that the alliance will take steps “to build a bridge for NATO membership for Ukraine” during the summit.
“Hopefully soon, Ukraine will receive its invitation,” Umerov said to Austin. “But at the moment, we will discuss the issues, how to increase our capabilities and plans.”
