IRIA News

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U.S. President Joe Biden directed the Department of Defense to allocate all remaining security assistance funding for Ukraine as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on September 26, 2024.

During the meeting, Biden and Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine’s plans to defend against Russia and achieve victory. Both leaders held detailed discussions on diplomatic, economic, and military aspects of the plan and next steps.

U.S. President Biden said in a statement, “I also have authorized $5.5 billion in presidential drawdown authority to ensure this authority does not expire so that my administration can fully utilize the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of U.S. equipment for Ukraine and then replenish U.S. stockpiles.”

According to the White House statement, U.S. President Biden is “determined to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win,” and will host a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, On October 12, 2024, where both leaders will review progress on these consultations and coordinate with international partners on additional assistance for Ukraine.

Today, President Zelenskyy and I sat down again to discuss strengthening Ukraine’s position on the battlefield and helping Ukraine rebuild stronger than before.

Two things are clear: Ukraine will win this war. And the U.S. will continue to stand by them every step of the way. pic.twitter.com/KWLvQMFxzz

— President Biden (@POTUS) September 26, 2024

The latest U.S. security assistance for Ukraine includes $375 million worth of military equipment from the Department of Defense inventory. It includes air-to-ground munitions, ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), 155 mm and 105 mm artillery ammunition, Javelin and AT4 anti-armor systems, and M1117 armored security vehicles.

The White House statement highlighted that the Pentagon will provide $2.4 billion in security assistance through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and the additional support would meet Ukraine’s need for additional air defense, unmanned aerial systems, and air-to-ground munitions. This would also strengthen Ukraine’s defense industrial base and support its maintenance and sustainment requirements.

To strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, President Biden announced that he has instructed the Department of Defense to refurbish and deliver an additional Patriot air defense battery, along with more Patriot missiles, to Ukraine. Biden also confirmed the decision to supply Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon, a long-range munition.

The U.S. president said, “This builds on my decision earlier this year to divert U.S. air defense exports to Ukraine, which will provide Ukraine with hundreds of additional Patriot and AMRAAM missiles over the next year and will help Ukraine defend its cities and its people.”

While the U.S. has not provided F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the U.S. is training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 and President Biden has directed to expand this training, including support for training an additional 18 pilots next year.

The latest security assistance package includes:

• Munitions and support for Ukrainian air defense systems;
• Air-to-ground munitions;
• Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and components to support Ukrainian production of UAS;
• Counter-UAS equipment; Unmanned surface vessels;
• Secure communications equipment;
• Equipment and materiel to support Ukrainian munitions production; and
• Spare parts, maintenance and sustainment support, and other ancillary equipment.

President Biden also said in a statement at the White House, “The United States will continue to raise the costs on Russia for its war in Ukraine and to deprive the Russian defense industrial base of resources.” To counter Russian sanctions evasion and money laundering, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Secret Service have taken action to disrupt a global cryptocurrency network, in coordination with international partners.