US expected to provide $6 billion to fund long-term weapons contracts for Ukraine, officials say
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is expected to announce Friday that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military assistance to Ukraine, U.S. officials said, adding that it will include much-sought munitions for Patriot air defense systems.
The officials said the aid package will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means it could take many months or years for the weapons to arrive. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.
The new funding – the largest tranche of USAI assistance sent to date – will include a wide range of air defense munitions such as the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAM) and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) . as well as the Patriot munitions, Switchblade and Puma drones, counter-drone systems and artillery.
The announcement is expected to come as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convenes a virtual meeting Friday of defense officials from Europe and around the world to discuss international aid to Ukraine. The gathering – founded by Austin and known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group – has been meeting monthly for the past two years and is the main forum for arms contributions to Kiev for the war.
It follows the White House’s decision earlier this week to approve the delivery of $1 billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. These weapons include a variety of ammunition, including air defense ammunition and large quantities of artillery shells in high demand by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons.
However, that aid will reach Ukraine quickly as it is taken from the Pentagon’s shelves, including from warehouses in Europe.
The major back-to-back packages are the result of the new influx of about $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that was passed by Congress on Wednesday and signed into law by President Joe Biden. And they provide the weapons Kiev urgently needs to stem the gains made by Russian forces in the war.
Bitterly divided members of Congress were deadlocked over funding for months, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson to put together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The $95 billion foreign aid package, which also included billions for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House of Representatives on Saturday, and the Senate approved it on Tuesday.
Senior US officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine as troops run low on ammunition and Russian forces make gains.
Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the US has sent more than $44 billion in weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.
Among the weapons supplied to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 main battle tanks. But Ukraine has now sidelined them in part because Russia’s drone war has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or being attacked, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.