US will send $1.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine
Associated PressWASHINGTON — The U.S. will send $1.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine, officials announced on Monday, including an array of munitions for air defense systems, artillery, mortars and anti-tank and anti-ship missiles. The package includes $1.5 billion in funding for long-term contracts through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and $200 million in immediate military aid taken from Pentagon stockpiles. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday that the package includes “key capabilities for the fight.” He said this is the ninth military aid package for Ukraine since late April, when Congress finally passed supplemental funding for aid to Kyiv after months of gridlock and delays. At that time, he said, “there were legitimate concerns that Russia would achieve a strategic breakthrough on the battlefield by the summer.” But since the funding passed Congress, “Ukraine’s defensive lines have been fortified and Ukrainian forces have continued to fight bravely and repel Russia’s advances.”