United States allocates additional $625M military aid package to Ukraine

The U.S. government has announced that it is giving an additional $625 million in security assistance to Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this in a statement published on Tuesday, Ukrinform reports.

"Pursuant to a delegation of authority from the President, I am authorizing our twenty-second drawdown of U.S. arms and equipment for Ukraine since August 2021. This $625 million drawdown includes additional arms, munitions, and equipment from U.S. Department of Defense inventories," Blinken said.

He added that this drawdown will bring the total U.S. military assistance for Ukraine to more than $17.5 billion since the beginning of the Biden administration.

The White House said in a statement on this matter that on Tuesday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to underscore that the United States will never recognize Russia's purported annexation of Ukrainian territory. The U.S. administration said the new security assistance package for Ukraine includes additional weapons and equipment, including HIMARS, artillery systems and ammunition, and armored vehicles.

"President Biden also affirmed the continued readiness of the United States to impose severe costs on any individual, entity, or country that provides support to Russia's purported annexation," the White House said.

Both houses of the U.S. Congress last week passed and President Biden signed a bill on further financing of the U.S. government, which includes, among other things, $12.3 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine.