US announces $325 million in new Ukraine security aid

Antony Blinken

The United States on Tuesday announced a new $325 military assistance package for Ukraine as Kyiv's troops battle Russian forces in a recently launched counteroffensive.

The package "will provide $325 million worth of US arms and equipment," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

It "includes critical air defense capabilities, additional munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles, and other equipment," he said.

The Pentagon said the package provides "key capabilities to aid Ukraine's efforts to retake its sovereign territory and support Ukraine's air defenders as they bravely protect Ukraine’s soldiers, civilians, and critical infrastructure."

The assistance includes 25 armored vehicles -- 15 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and six Stryker personnel carriers, as well as demolition munitions to clear obstacles, and more than 22 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades.

The package will aid Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russian troops, which President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday was underway.

Kyiv has appealed to its allies in the West to deliver a broad range of modern military equipment to help Ukrainian forces recapture large swathes of territory controlled by Russia.

The United States has provided more than $40 billion in military aid since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.