WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (KUNA) -- As part of the surge in security assistance that President Biden announced on September 26 to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine's critical security and defense needs. "This announcement is the Biden Administration's seventy-first tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021," a DoD press release said on Monday.
"This Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package, which has an estimated value of USD 725 million, will provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including: air defense capabilities; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; and anti-tank weapons.
"The United States will continue to work together with some 50 Allies and partners through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and its associated Capability Coalitions to meet Ukraine's urgently needed battlefield requirements and defend against Russian aggression," the statement added.
In a related development, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Ukrainian Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov today to discuss battlefield dynamics and US security assistance to Ukraine. Secretary Austin condemned Russia's recent barrage of missiles and Unmanned Aerial Systems targeting Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and its use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in Ukraine, which marks another escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine.
He provided Umerov with an update on the continued surge of US security assistance to Ukraine to provide the capabilities it needs to defend against Russian aggression, according to the statement. (end) asj.gb