The United States announced on Monday that it will provide Ukraine with new security assistance worth US$200 million. This includes air defense munitions, artillery rounds, and additional mine-clearing equipment. The assistance will also include anti-armour capabilities, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Last Monday, two U.S. officials informed Reuters that Washington would begin distributing US$6.2 billion of funds that were discovered after a Pentagon accounting error resulted in an overvaluation of billions of dollars of aid to Ukraine.
In a May announcement, the Pentagon revealed that it had mistakenly assigned a higher value to the U.S. weaponry sent to Kyiv. The error occurred due to the use of “replacement value” instead of “depreciated value” when calculating the worth of ammunition, missiles, and other equipment shipped to Ukraine.
Ukraine urgently requires weaponry that can be delivered from U.S. stocks within a matter of days or weeks to defend against Russia’s invasion. The accounting error actually benefits Kyiv as it allows for the shipment of more equipment.
“I want to thank the United States today for the new package. Munitions for Patriots, for HIMARS, artillery, Javelins and more. These are much-needed things,” expressed Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his address on Monday evening.
“There will be even more work soon with our partners for the sake of defense,” Zelenskyy added.
The utilization of these discovered funds is significant as they represent the remaining amount from the previously authorized US$25.5 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA). This authority allows for the shipment of weapons from U.S. stocks in the event of an emergency, as stated by U.S. officials.
The U.S. officials mentioned that Washington is currently working on a supplemental budget request to continue assisting Kyiv.
This announcement of US$200 million is the first installment of a $6.2 billion windfall from the previously authorized Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), according to the officials.
-Reporting by Paul Grant; Editing by Ismail Shakil, Bernadette Baum, and Conor Humphries