The US is preparing a new package for defense aid to Ukraine, which will be announced in the coming days. This was stated on Monday by Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser of the White House, during a briefing.
"We're going to have another package that we call the PDA -- the Presidential Drawdown Authority package -- just in the next few days because we're trying to really accelerate the pace of deliveries,'' Sullivan said.
He noted that the several-month delay in aid to Ukraine due to protracted discussions in Congress created a "hole" in arms supplies, so now the administration is trying to help Ukraine get out of it as soon as possible.
When asked if this meant packages to Ukraine would now be sent on a weekly basis, Sullivan said the process would at least be intensive. He also said that the US administration is in close contact with the Ukrainian side.
According to Sullivan, the most recent such conversation took place earlier on Monday, involving Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown from the US side, and the President's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, the Secretary of the defense Rustem Umerov and commander-in-chief Alexander Sirsky for the side of Ukraine.
"We talked for 90 minutes. It was a detailed conversation about the situation on the front line, about the capabilities that they need the most,'' Sullivan said.
On Monday, the US State Department expressed an expectation that Russia will try to continue offensive efforts in eastern Ukraine without being able to make any major breakthroughs.
We remind you that on May 10 it became clear that US President Joe Biden ordered the transfer of military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 400 million dollars.
Sources of "Politico" reported that the new package will include Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicles and Javelin anti-tank missile systems.
In late April, Biden signed a bill providing Ukraine with a new military aid package worth a total of $60.64 billion. more than a third of the total - $23.2 billion - will be used to replenish US stockpiles.
The document could not be reconciled as of September 2023
AFP recalled that this is the third package of military aid from the US to Ukraine in the last three weeks. In this way, the White House is trying to make up for months of delays in military supplies.