US to Announce Additional $275ml in Military Aid for Ukraine

A sapper inspects fragments of a Russian air bomb that hit a living area injuring ten in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
A sapper inspects fragments of a Russian air bomb that hit a living area injuring ten in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
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US to Announce Additional $275ml in Military Aid for Ukraine

A sapper inspects fragments of a Russian air bomb that hit a living area injuring ten in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
A sapper inspects fragments of a Russian air bomb that hit a living area injuring ten in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

The United States is expected to announce an additional $275 million in military aid for Ukraine on Friday as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, two US officials say.

This will be the fourth installment of military aid for Ukraine since Congress passed a long-delayed foreign aid bill late last month and comes as the Biden administration has pledged to keep weapons flowing regularly and to get them to the front lines as quickly as possible, The AP reported.

The package includes high mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, as well 155 mm and 105 mm high-demand artillery rounds, according to the two US officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details of the aid package before the public announcement.

It follows a monthly gathering Monday of about 50 defense leaders from Europe and elsewhere who meet regularly to coordinate getting more military aid to Ukraine. At this latest meeting, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine was in a “moment of challenge” due to Russia’s new onslaught on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. He pledged to keep weapons moving “week after week.”

In the month since President Joe Biden signed the $95 billion foreign aid package, which included about $61 billion for Ukraine, the US has announced and started to send almost $1.7 billion in weapons pulled from Pentagon stockpiles.

It’s also announced $6 billion in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. That pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means that the weapons could take many months or years to arrive.

With this latest package, the US has now provided almost $51 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.



Ukraine Drone Attacks on Russia’s Belgorod Region Kill One, Injure Four, Governor Says 

Ukrainian soldiers, of 43rd artillery brigade, fire by 2s7 self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP)
Ukrainian soldiers, of 43rd artillery brigade, fire by 2s7 self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP)
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Ukraine Drone Attacks on Russia’s Belgorod Region Kill One, Injure Four, Governor Says 

Ukrainian soldiers, of 43rd artillery brigade, fire by 2s7 self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP)
Ukrainian soldiers, of 43rd artillery brigade, fire by 2s7 self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP)

An elderly woman was killed, four people injured and scores of buildings damaged in multiple air attacks by Ukraine on the Belgorod region, the governor of the southern Russian region that borders Ukraine said on Tuesday.

The Russian defense ministry said that its air defense systems destroyed a total of 29 Ukraine-launched drones over the region's territory.

An elderly woman died in a village near the Belgorod city, which is the administrative center of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the region said on the Telegram messaging app.

At least six of the drones were destroyed over the Yakovlevsky district in the Belgorod region, Glakdov said. Two people were injured there with shrapnel wounds, he added.

Another person was injured after a drone was downed over the city of Belgorod, and another woman was injured in one of the region's villages, Gladkov said.

He said that scores of buildings and cars across the region were damaged.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war, which Russia started with a full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbor in 2022.

Ukraine says that its attacks on Russia's military, transport and energy infrastructure undermine Moscow's overall war efforts and are in response to Russia's relentless attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure.