US to send additional $2.3 BILLION in military aid to Ukraine

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the US would be announcing a new security assistance funds for Ukraine, to the tune of $2.3 billion. The remarks came as Austin met with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in the Pentagon.

According to the Associated Press, $150 million of the total aid will come from the presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to send weapons from US stockpiles, and the rest will come from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. "Make no mistake, Ukraine is not alone, and the United States will never waver in our support," Austin said at the beginning of the meeting. "Alongside some 50 allies and partners, we’ll continue to provide critical capabilities that Ukraine needs to push back Russian aggression today and to deter Russian aggression tomorrow."

The announcement came just days before the US is set to host the NATO summit in Washington, DC. "We’ll take steps to build a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine," Austin said, to which Umerov responded, "Hopefully soon Ukraine will receive its invitation." The comment also came as NATO officials have stated that they will be stationing a senior civilian official in Kyiv to "Trump-proof" Ukraine, as well as set up a new command in Germany to "coordinate the provision of military equipment to Kyiv and the training of Ukrainian troops."

“A big reason for the change is to Trump-proof the assistance effort to Ukraine,” said Ivo Daalder, a former US-NATO ambassador. “Rather than having Washington in charge of managing the training and assistance, NATO will be in charge. So even if the US reduces or withdraws support for the effort, it won’t be eliminated.” According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the US has sent a total of $175 billion in aid to Ukraine as of May. This aid includes weapons and military support, budget support, and humanitarian support.