US Announces New $600 Mln Arms Package for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden pauses as he speaks during a signing ceremony for "The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, US August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis
US President Joe Biden pauses as he speaks during a signing ceremony for "The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, US August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis
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US Announces New $600 Mln Arms Package for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden pauses as he speaks during a signing ceremony for "The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, US August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis
US President Joe Biden pauses as he speaks during a signing ceremony for "The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, US August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis

US President Joe Biden announced a new $600 million arms package to help the Ukrainian military battle Russia, according to a White House memo sent to the State Department on Thursday.

Biden authorized the assistance using his Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to sanction the transfer of excess weapons from US stocks.

The package includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), night vision goggles, claymore mines, mine clearing equipment, 105mm artillery rounds and 155mm precision guided artillery rounds, the Pentagon said.

The White House memo also mentioned the money will be used for military education and training.

Washington has sent about $15.1 billion dollars in security assistance to the Kyiv government since Russia's invasion.

"To meet Ukraine’s evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities," the Pentagon said.

As Russia's war on Ukraine drags on, US security assistance is shifting to a longer-term campaign that also will likely keep more American military troops in Europe into the future, US officials have said.

The arms package announcement came as Ukrainian authorities found a mass burial site near a recaptured northeastern city previously occupied by Russian forces.



3 Pakistani Soldiers and 8 Militants Killed During a Raid on Insurgents' Hideout

Pakistani security official stands guard at a checkpoint in Karachi, Pakistan, 29 October 2024.  EPA/REHAN KHAN
Pakistani security official stands guard at a checkpoint in Karachi, Pakistan, 29 October 2024. EPA/REHAN KHAN
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3 Pakistani Soldiers and 8 Militants Killed During a Raid on Insurgents' Hideout

Pakistani security official stands guard at a checkpoint in Karachi, Pakistan, 29 October 2024.  EPA/REHAN KHAN
Pakistani security official stands guard at a checkpoint in Karachi, Pakistan, 29 October 2024. EPA/REHAN KHAN

Three soldiers and eight militants were killed after Pakistani security forces backed by military helicopters raided a hideout in a former stronghold of insurgents in a restive province bordering Afghanistan on Wednesday, police said.
A local militant commander was believed to be among those killed in the operation in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police official Zahid Ullah said.
The military said a major was among the soldiers “martyred” during the intelligence-based operation, adding that its forces were going after other militants in the area "to wipe out the menace of terrorism”, The Associated Press reported.
Authorities often carry out such operations against the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The TTP — an ally of the Afghan Taliban despite being a separate group — has stepped up its assaults in the region since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Government forces have also intensified their operations against separatist groups based in the restive southwestern Balochistan province.