The plan is for Defense Minister Lloyd Austin to present the package when he is on Friday in a video meeting with colleagues from Europe and other countries in the contact group for Ukraine – known as the Ramstein group – US sources say.
The upcoming package is part of a long-term support program for Ukraine, and it could take months and even years before the weapons are in place in Ukraine.
The support program has already been established, but has struggled with a lack of money as long as a decision on more aid from the US was stuck in Congress. After US lawmakers this week agreed to $61 billion more in aid to the war-torn country, President Joe Biden quickly gave his formal approval on Wednesday. Shortly afterwards, the first shipment of new weapons worth a total of $1 billion left. It contained, among other things, artillery shells.
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The package Austin is expected to present on Friday means that the US Department of Defense can order weapons from the defense industry on behalf of Ukraine, within the package’s financial framework.
In a video speech on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wants to expand the capacity of Ukraine’s defense industry. He asked for investment from countries that cannot produce weapons themselves for the war-torn country.
