Sept. 25 (UPI) — The United States on Wednesday unveiled another package of lethal assistance for Ukraine as the Kyiv leader is in New York City for a United Nations summit, one day before he is scheduled to visit the White House.
The package, valued at $375 million, includes air-to-ground munitions, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, patrol boats, M1117 Armored Security Vehicles, Javelin and AT-4 anti armor systems and other lethal equipment that is to come from U.S. stockpiles.
It was unveiled by Secretary of State Antony Blinken who described the package’s contents as “urgently needed weapons and equipment” for Ukraine to defend against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“We will deploy this new assistance as quickly as possible to help Ukraine protect its territory and its people,” Blinken said in a statement as he reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to Kyiv’s defense.
“As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine.”
The United States has some $6 billion of Congressionally approved funds left in its Presidential Drawdown Authority for Military Assistance for Ukraine. But U.S. Defense officials have said that all but $100 million of the funds will expire with the end of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, if neither Congress nor the State Department acts to extend it.
Billions in assistance are anticipated to be announced Thursday when Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky — who is in the United States this week for the United Nations General Assembly — is scheduled to visit the White House.
The two leaders spoke briefly Wednesday, according to a statement from the White House, and Biden told Zelensky that “he has directed a surge in U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, which will be announced publicly tomorrow, and which will help Ukraine win.”
The announcement of new weaponry comes as Zelensky is seeking to have the United States permit Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to attack farther within Russia’s territory.
The United States has been by far Ukraine’s largest backer amid its war against the Kremlin, giving it more than $50 billion worth of lethal goods since the conflict began in February 2022.
However, the Biden administration has been reluctant to gift it certain weaponry or sign off on some uses out of fear of escalating the conflict.
Ukraine, though, has increased its requests on the United States, which denied it tanks and the use of sophisticated fighter jets earlier in the war but has since relented. It is now seeking permission to strike deeper within Russian territory.
The White House made no direct comment if the issue was brought up by the two leaders Wednesday, but Zelensky said in a statement on X following his meeting with Biden that he raised his so-called Plan for Victory, which includes the use of long-range missiles.
“I told President Biden about the situation on the frontlines and raised the Plan of Victory. We agreed to discuss it in detail during negotiations in Washington tomorrow,” he said.
Biden has previously suggested that ending the weapons ban was, at least, something his administration was considering as other nations had lifted their restrictions placed on the lethal weapon’s use.
Last month when asked by reporters about the long-range weapons restrictions, Biden replied: “We’re working that out right now.”
Zelensky is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House, where they will discuss “the state of the war between Russia and Ukraine, including Ukraine’s strategic planning and U.S. support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression,” according to a statement last week announcing the visit from Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre.
Before the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Wednesday, Zelensky called on all nations to support his Plan for Victory.