US to give Ukraine US$500 million in additional military aid, Pentagon announces
- The package will include ground vehicles including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armoured personnel carriers, according to a statement from the Pentagon
- US lets Moscow send plane to Washington to pick up Russian diplomats despite a ban on commercial flights; calls for reciprocal treatment
The package will include ground vehicles including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armoured personnel carriers, and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, according to a statement from the Pentagon.
The package “includes key capabilities to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive operations, strengthen its air defences … and other equipment to help Ukraine push back on Russia’s war of aggression,” the Pentagon said.
The package is being funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, which authorises the president to transfer articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. The material will come from US excess inventory.
Meanwhile, the United States said on Tuesday it allowed Moscow to send a plane to Washington to pick up diplomats despite a ban on commercial flights and called for reciprocal treatment.
“The US government allowed the Russian government to send a charter flight to the United States to transport to Russia those Russian diplomats whose assignments have ended,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.