United States To Announce $375 Million Military Assistance Package For Ukraine

President Joe Biden plans to unveil a new $375 million military aid package for Ukraine after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart at the G7 summit in Japan this weekend.

More artillery shells, armored vehicles, and anti-tank weapons will be included in the package, all of which had already been delivered to Kyiv but will be critical in the months of heavy battle predicted this spring and summer. The officials were allowed anonymity in order to discuss the conversations ahead of an announcement.

The announcement comes as the U.S. president indicated that he would approve the third-party transfer of American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, assuring his G7 counterparts overnight that he will back a combined international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on the aircraft.

Taken together, the measures represent a powerful show of support for Kyiv ahead of an expected counteroffensive in which Ukrainians want to claim more land lost to Russia.

In recent weeks, Moscow has attacked Ukraine with missiles, but Kyiv has been successful in resisting air defenses such as the Patriot missile system.

Countries that have flown the F-16 for decades, such as Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands have signaled their willingness to engage in the training program, and Norway is also considering assisting.

NATO countries are all in the midst of transitioning to the F-35 and have been selling their older F-16 to third-world countries such as Romania, which sorely needs to upgrade from their Soviet-era aircraft.

So yet, no countries, including the United States, have committed to deploying F-16s to Ukraine.

Fresh from a tour of European capitals that included a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia to drum up support for his country’s war effort, Zelenskyy has used the extended trip to put on a very public show of stability and calm as the war grinds on, with the front lines largely stable and his troops preparing for new assaults on entrenched Russian positions.

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