US to send $500 million in weapons, military aid to Ukraine, officials say
U.S. officials say the Pentagon will announce it is sending up to $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armored vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defense systems
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will announce it is sending up to $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armored vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defense systems, U.S. officials said Monday, as Ukrainian and Western leaders try to sort out the impact of the brief weekend insurrection in Russia.
The aid is aimed at bolstering Ukraine's counteroffensive, which has been moving slowly in its early stages. It wasn't clear Monday if Ukrainian forces will be able to take advantage of the disarray in the Russian ranks, in the aftermath of the short-lived rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner mercenary group that he has controlled.
An announcement on the aid package is expected Tuesday. This would be the 41st time since the Russian invasion into Ukraine in February 2022 that the U.S. has provided military weapons and equipment through presidential drawdown authority. The program allows the Pentagon to quickly take items from its own stocks and deliver them to Ukraine.
Because the aid packages are generally planned in advance and recently included many of the same critical weapons for the battlefront, the contents weren't likely chosen based on the weekend rebellion.
