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19:00 GMT
WASHINGTON, April 26 (KUNA) -- As it commemorates the second anniversary of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group led by Secretary Lloyd Austin, the US Department of Defense announced a security assistance package amounting in value to USD six billion.
"The historic new security assistance package" aims "to address Ukraine's ongoing battlefield needs and demonstrate unwavering US support for Ukraine," the DoD said in a press release on Friday.
This package, provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) using funding appropriated by the national security supplemental which the President just signed into law, includes equipment to augment Ukraine's air defenses, fires, and artillery, and to sustain capabilities previously committed by the United States.
Unlike Presidential Drawdown Authority, which DoD has continued to leverage to deliver equipment to Ukraine from DoD stocks at a historic pace, including through the USD one billion package announced on April 24, USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from US industry or partners.
This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to acquire additional priority capabilities for Ukraine, according to the statment.
The package includes additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems; additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS); equipment to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars with Ukraine's air defense systems; counter-UAS equipment and systems; munitions for laser-guided rocket systems; multi-mission radars; counter-artillery radars; additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155 mm and 152mm artillery rounds; precision aerial munitions; Switchblade and Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS); tactical vehicles to tow weapons and equipment; demolition munitions; components to support Ukrainian production of UAS and other capabilities; small arms and additional small arms ammunition; and ancillary items and support for training, maintenance, and sustainment activities.
This USAI package highlights the strong and unwavering US commitment to meet Ukraine's most pressing immediate and longer-term capability needs to fight Russian aggression as part of the global coalition we have built with some 50 Allies and partners. (end)
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