The United States Department of Defense announced on September 21, 2023, that the U.S. is sending an additional military assistance package to Ukraine valued at up to $325 million.
The announcement of the latest security package for Ukraine comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded his second trip to Washington since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Pentagon statement, the latest package includes, “additional air defense equipment, artillery rounds, antitank weapons and other equipment to meet Ukraine’s urgent needs on the battlefield to counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.”
U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled the military package for Ukraine after his meeting with Zelenskyy at the White House. Biden said, “We’re committed to help Ukraine build a force capable of ensuring Ukraine’s long-term security, capable of deterring future threats against sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom, which are underway now. Because that’s what this is all about — the future, the future of freedom. America can never, will never walk away from that.”
The United States' commitment to Ukraine will not weaken.
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 22, 2023
Putin may still wrongly believe that he can outlast Ukraine.
Putin may doubt our staying power.
He’s wrong.
We will stand for liberty and freedom today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/k1m1BgggvT
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that the United States has strengthened Ukraine’s position to “defend our children, our families, our homes, freedom and democracy in the world.” Zelenskyy appreciated the “vital assistance” provided by the U.S. to combat Russian troops and said that “It’s good that our countries are really, truly allies.”
According to the NBC report, during his meeting with the U.S. president, Zelenskyy was informed by Biden that the United States is ready to provide Ukraine with a long-range weapon system, MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). However, the White House and Department of Defense declined to comment on the report and said, “In regards to ATACMS we have nothing to announce.”
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy also met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and discussed “the outcome of the most recent meeting of more than 50 countries at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany,” the Pentagon statement read.
The Department of Defense statement added that U.S. Secretary Austin also “provided Zelenskyy with an update on U.S. security assistance to meet Ukraine’s most urgent battlefield needs.”
