US announces $375 million aid package for Ukraine as Biden administration pledges ‘unwavering support’
By Oren Liebermann, CNN
(CNN) — The US announced a $375 million aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday as the Biden administration pledged “unwavering support” to the war-torn country.
The aid package, which is nearly double the size of recent shipments, includes artillery ammunition, air defense, anti-tank missiles and more of the critical weapons and equipment the US has provided Ukraine.
Earlier Wednesday, President Joe Biden and other world leaders signed a Joint Declaration of Support for Recovery and Reconstruction of Ukraine, promising support “in the future, in war and in peace.” The declaration comes with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visiting the US for the United Nations General Assembly, as well as meetings with the White House.
In his address to the UN, Zelensky called on the world to stand against what he called Russia’s “colonial war.”
“The world has already been through colonial wars and conspiracies of great powers at the expense of those who are small,” the Ukrainian president said. “Ukrainians will never accept why anyone in the world believes that such a brutal colonial past – which suits no one today – can be imposed on Ukraine now, instead of a normal, peaceful life.”
Zelensky will visit Washington, DC, on Thursday, where he will meet Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. In his meetings, Zelensky has promised to unveil his “victory plan” to defeat Russia. The plan includes Kyiv’s long-stated request to use US-manufactured long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia, an ask that the Biden administration has repeatedly denied. which the Biden administration has repeatedly denied.
On Wednesday, Biden promised to unveil a series of moves to support Ukraine’s military. The president said his administration is “determined to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to prevail in its fight for survival.”
Biden is also set to announce “significant” security assistance package for Ukraine on Thursday, sources familiar told CNN, including weapons and other capabilities.
The Biden administration has nearly $6 billion left in unused presidential drawdown authority that is set to expire at the end of the month. The authority allows the US to pull military arms and equipment directly from its own stockpiles to send to Ukraine. As CNN reported, the administration is expected to commit the remaining authority to Ukraine and send the aid shipments over the course of the next few months.
A shortage in excess stockpiles of weapons the US was willing to send Ukraine forced the Biden administration to announce smaller military aid packages of approximately $200 million over the last several months.
The-CNN-Wire
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