By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-16 19:19:07 | Updated at 2024-10-16 23:35:34
4 hours ago
US President Joe Biden announced a US$425 million arms package for Kyiv on Wednesday in a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, ahead of a farewell visit to Berlin to discuss Ukraine, the White House said.
The package includes air defence and armoured vehicles, said a readout of the call, adding that Biden had briefed Zelensky “on his efforts to surge security assistance to Ukraine over the remainder of his term in office”.
Biden would also hold a virtual meeting of Ukraine’s allies in November, it added, as he tries to shore up international support for Kyiv before a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House in January 2025.
There was no mention, however, of any decision on whether to allow Ukraine to fire Western-made long-range missiles deep into Russia, a move Biden has been reluctant to green-light so far.
The US$425 million US package includes “additional air defence capability, air-to-ground munitions, armoured vehicles, and critical munitions to meet Ukraine’s urgent needs”, the White House said.
The United States would in coming months provide hundreds of air defence missiles, artillery, hundreds of armoured personnel carriers and thousands of additional armoured vehicles, it added.
