DOD offers details on new aid package to Ukraine

The U.S. Department of Defense on Wednesday specified what Ukraine would receive from a new aid package that U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin teased on Tuesday. Austin had said that the $2.3 billion package would include ammunition, air defense systems, and other munitions but did not offer further specifics.

What are the specifics of the package? The Pentagon revealed Wednesday that the deal would include $150 million worth of aid pulled together using presidential drawdown authority and roughly $2.2 billion drawn from other DOD funds. The package gives Ukraine new Patriot and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASMS, defense systems. It also provides ammunition for those missile systems, along with artillery shells, mortar rounds, spare parts, and vehicles to transport the air defense systems the Pentagon is providing.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard’s discussion with Will Inboden on The World and Everything in It podcast about Russia gathering support from North Korea as Western countries provide aid to Ukraine.