WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine, saying it hopes to provide new capabilities tailored to a wider Russian assault expected in eastern Ukraine.
The latest aid, which brings the total aid tally since Russian forces invaded in February to more than $2.5 billion, includes artillery systems, artillery rounds and armored personnel carriers, Biden said in a statement after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The new security assistance package – first reported by Reuters on Tuesday – will be funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, in which the president can authorize the transfer of articles and services from U.S. stocks without congressional approval in response to an emergency.
Zelenskiy has been pleading with U.S. and European leaders to provide heavier arms and equipment as his country faces an invasion that has killed thousands and displaced millions.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to destroy Ukraine’s military capabilities and capture what it views as dangerous nationalists, but Ukraine and the West say Russia launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
