WASHINGTON(AP) December,21— The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will provide $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, rolling out funding for a Patriot missile battery as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington for his first known trip out of his country since Russia invaded in February.
The White House announcement came just hours before Zelenskyy landed at Joint Base Andrews, just outside the capital. The package includes $1 billion in weapons and equipment from Pentagon stocks, including the Patriot battery for the first time, and $850 million in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Part of the USAI will be used to fund a satellite communications system, which likely will include the crucial SpaceX Starlink satellite network system owned by Elon Musk.
“As Russia continues its brutal attacks against critical infrastructure in Ukraine, the United States welcomes President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington, D.C. today to underscore our enduring commitment to the people of Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, adding that the U.S. will be providing “critical new and additional
Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have pressed Western leaders to provide more advanced weapons, including the Patriots, to help their country in its war with Russia. The Patriot will become the most advanced surface-to-air missile system western Ukraine has made available to repel Russian airstrikes.
Also included in the package are his two other key items. The Pentagon plans to send an undisclosed Joint Direct Attack Weapons Kit (JDAM) to Ukraine. The US also plans to fund satellite terminals and services to secure potential vulnerabilities in Ukraine after Musk said his company could no longer afford the service for free. .
The kit is used to modify large bombs by adding tails and precision navigation systems so that they can be released from fighter planes onto targets as well as released and guided to targets. Satellite funding acts as a hedge against the possibility that Musk will threaten to stop funding them again. Musk sent his first Starlink terminals to Ukraine just days after his February invasion of Russia, and by October he had more than 2,200 low-orbit satellites providing his broadband internet to Ukraine.
Military power to help defend Ukraine against Russia’s continued brutal and unprovoked attacks. ”
