Biden announces new $375M military aid package for Ukraine during Zelensky meeting
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President Biden on Sunday announced an additional round of military assistance for Ukraine during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Japan.
Biden said the $375 million aid package would include ammunition, artillery and armored vehicles to bolster Ukraine’s efforts to fight back against Russia’s invasion.
“The United States continues to help Ukraine respond, recover, and rebuild. And we’re also supporting your pursuit of a just peace — just one aspect of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Biden said. “It has to be non-negotiable. It just has to happen.”
The State Department noted that Sunday’s announcement would be the 38th drawdown of equipment for Ukraine from funding authorized by Congress since Russia first invaded Ukraine more than a year ago.
The package includes artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons, armored medical treatment vehicles, trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment and other materials, the State Department said.
“Russia could end its war today. Until Russia does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Zelensky traveled to Hiroshima this weekend, where Biden and other world leaders were gathered for the G7.
In addition to the announcement of additional aid, Biden last week told leaders in Japan that the United States would support a joint effort to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter aircrafts.
The U.S. is hopeful the training can begin in the “coming week,” a senior administration official said, and it will require months to complete. It will occur outside Ukraine at sites in Europe.
Biden at a press conference on Sunday said he has a “flat assurance” from Zelensky that Ukraine will not use the fighter jets to cross the Russian border.
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