US President Joe Biden will announce a new package of 800 million dollars in military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday, sources tell several media.
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The funds come on top of the 200 million dollars that were sent over the weekend, and thus a total of one billion dollars in aid will be promised in the last week, says an anonymous official in the White House to the news agency AFP.
The sum corresponds to around NOK 9 billion. It was Wall Street Journal who first reported the aid funds.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address Congress. He is again expected to ask for more assistance, and some elected officials in the United States have tried to push the White House to an even tougher line against Russia after the invasion.
No fighter jets
CNN reports that the new aid funds will not include either the no-fly zone or the fighter jets that Zelensky has previously said are necessary to maintain the Ukrainian resistance against Russia.
Among what is to be sent are several of the defensive weapons the United States has already sent, among them anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, the channel writes.
The White House source will not tell AFP what to send, but points out that the United States has sent at least 3,200 anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, along with a wide range of radar systems, helicopters, grenade launchers, hand-held weapons and ammunition, as well as other equipment. .
Military aid last week comes after a $ 350 million package of military equipment approved on February 26. Then it was the largest package of its kind in American history.
–Humanitarian and financial assistance
Military aid comes alongside a $ 13.6 billion aid package, which was enacted into law on Tuesday.
It will “deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the effect it has on surrounding countries”, and is part of the budget that finances the US state apparatus for the rest of the year.
According to CNN about 6.5 billion, about half of the package, will go to the US Department of Defense. The money will enable the ministry to send forces to the region and military equipment to Ukraine.
Humanitarian aid
More than 4 billion goes to provide humanitarian aid to people fleeing Ukraine and people displaced within the country.
In addition, the money goes to much-needed food, medical care and emergency funds for vulnerable groups in the region, according to an overview from a committee in the House of Representatives.
The package also has financial support of almost $ 1.8 billion. The money will go to cover needs both in Ukraine and neighboring countries, for example for cyber security and energy.
The channel writes that the size of the package grew at the end of the negotiations and that the White House only asked for 10 billion dollars earlier this month.
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