By Maria Ortiz
12 Jul 2024, 00:28 AM EDT
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a new $225 million aid package for Ukraine, including a Patriot missile system to bolster its air defenses against Russian airstrikes.
The $225 million package also includes Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and more 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, among other munitions.
Biden made the announcement during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called the announcement “strong news” but insisted that, in the immediate future, what the Ukrainians also need is permission from the United States to fire the long-range missiles it has provided against deeper targetswithin Russia.
The Patriot air defense system, the second the U.S. has provided to Ukraine, is one of several Biden announced this week at the NATO summit and is part of a series of pledges to bring weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian attacks.
Ukraine has been the main focus of European and American leaders at the NATO summit in Washington and NATO members expanded their support for Ukraine to combat the Russian invasion that began in February 2022.
The United States has been Ukraine’s most important partner in military assistance during the war.
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