US Announces USD$3B "Independence Day" Package For Ukraine

The US has announced a USD$3 billion military aid package for Ukraine, the biggest package pledged by the US since the war began, and timed to coincide with Ukraine's independence day.

• President Biden said in White House statement: "On behalf of all Americans, I congratulate the people of Ukraine on their Independence Day. Over the past six months, Ukrainians have inspired the world with their extraordinary courage and dedication to freedom."
• "The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty. As part of that commitment, I am proud to announce our biggest tranche of security assistance to date: approximately $2.98 billion of weapons and equipment to be provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative [USAI]."
• "This will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term."
• The package differs from previous arms shipments to Ukraine which have come via Presidential drawdown authority of existing US military stock. Today's package will be filled by defence contractors and be delivered over a medium and long-term timeframe.
• This is the current state of the Ukraine military aid account, according to Politico: “A Pentagon document showed that, as of Aug. 1, only $1.8 billion of the $6.3 billion appropriated to USAI had been used, leaving a delta of $4.5 billion to play with. Which means the $3 billion will eat up a sizable chunk of the remaining funds.”