Biden Admin to Give $820 Million More in Military Aid to Ukraine

The Biden administration announced new security assistance to Ukraine on July 1 in a package worth about $820 million in total.

The assistance comprises an authorization of a Presidential Drawdown (PDA) of security assistance valued at up to $50 million, as well as $770 million in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds. The PDA is the 14th drawdown of arms and equipment from the Pentagon’s inventories since August 2021.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the United States has committed a total of about $6.92 billion in military aid to Ukraine to fight Russian forces. Prior to the invasion, since 2014, the United States had committed some $1.8 billion in weapons and military training to Ukraine, $700 million of which came from the Biden administration.

The latest $820 million aid package was broadly announced by President Joe Biden at a news conference on Thursday in Madrid, which was the third and final day of the NATO summit focused on the Russia-Ukraine war.

“We are going to support Ukraine as long as it takes,” Biden said, adding that the United States is giving Ukrainians “the capacity” so that “they can continue to resist the Russian aggression.”

Two Surface-to-Air Missile Systems

The Pentagon issued a more comprehensive announcement on Friday as it formalized the announcement. It said that the USAI funds in the latest aid package will provide for Ukraine two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), a Norwegian-developed anti-aircraft system that is used to protect the airspace around the White House and Capitol in Washington.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude in his nightly video address, saying on Friday: “I am especially grateful today to the United States and to Biden personally for the package of support for Ukraine announced today, which includes very powerful NASAMS—an anti-aircraft missile system that will significantly strengthen our