White House announces new arms package for Ukraine

The United States will allocate another package of weapons for Ukraine in the coming days, including air defense systems. This was announced on December 27 by the coordinator of strategic communications of the White House national security Council John Kirby.

"In the next few days, you'll see another U.S. military aid package that will include air defense assets for Ukraine," Kirby said at a briefing broadcast on his official YouTube channel.

Current U.S. President Joe Biden approved a new $988 million aid package for Ukraine on December 12. Then during the briefing Kirby specified that the package would include air defense equipment, artillery ammunition, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and armored vehicles.

Before that, on December 7, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the total amount of military support to Ukraine from allies since the beginning of the special military operation exceeded $119 billion, which also includes $62 billion of U.S. aid.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of the special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.