Pentagon chief confirms new $200 mln aid package to Ukraine

The United States will send Ukraine a new military aid package worth $200 million.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the new assistance during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting held on Wednesday in Brussels.

"I'm glad that the United States will announce the next defense package aid to Ukraine," said the Pentagon chief.

The new aid also includes 155-mm and 105-mm ammunition and "completely new air defense systems that will soon be delivered to Ukraine."

Austin added the US will also send rockets, aerial munitions, anti-tank weapons, and "necessary weapons to combat Russian drones."

"America's total obligation [to Ukraine] will amount to $43 billion since the beginning of the war," he said.

Earlier, the mass media reported that the United States would announce a new package, which included shells for HIMARS long-range systems and air defense weapons.

What we know about US aid for Ukraine

As Rubryka reported, on the eve of the bill adoption, Republicans in the House of Representatives withdrew $300 million in aid to Ukraine after the House of Representatives voted to remove Kevin McCarthy from the Speaker post.

The Republicans took this step even though the leader of their faction in the House of Representatives and Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, promised not to withdraw funds for Ukraine from the draft defense budget last week.

The $300 million in question is unrelated to the $24 billion in additional funding for Ukraine and related expenses that the White House requested in August, which drew opposition from far-right Republicans.

Against this background, the US Senate agreed to an alternative project of the short-term budget resolution, which, among other things, provides more than $6.1 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, including $4.5 billion for defense spending and more than $1.6 billion for economic support.

Before the vote, the White House expressed confidence that Congress could support additional funding for Ukraine's defense needs despite the situation with McCarthy's removal from office.

The other day, The Telegraph reported that Biden wanted to ask Congress for the largest military and humanitarian aid package to Ukraine worth $100 billion, which should last for about two years.

The Biden administration also plans to submit aid packages to Ukraine and Israel for Congress' approval soon.

What we know about Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting

On Wednesday, another Ukraine defense meeting, known as the Ramstein format, is held at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. 

A meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council is also scheduled for the same day. Newly appointed Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umierov traveled from Ukraine to meet with his counterpart.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is also on an unannounced visit to Brussels and arrived at the NATO headquarters to participate in the Ramstein meeting for the first time.

As Zelensky reported, he should meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.