US to announce new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine, official says

The United States is preparing a $400 million military aid package for Ukraine, as the US returns to a regular pace of supplying weapons to Kyiv after the passage of a $95 billion bill, a US official told Reuters on Friday, May 10.

The Ukraine aid package includes artillery, munitions for NASAMS air defenses, anti-tank munitions, armored vehicles and small arms that can immediately be put to use on the battlefield, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The weapons aid will utilize Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which authorizes the president to transfer articles and services from US stocks without specific US congressional approval during an emergency. As a part of the $95 billion aid bills, Congress authorized $60.8 billion worth of various forms of aid to Ukraine, including $8 billion worth of PDA.

The aid announcement is expected as soon as Friday and comes after Russian forces launched an armored ground attack on Friday near Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv in the northeast of the country and made small inroads, opening a new front in a war that has long been waged in the east and south.

As replenishment funds for articles drawn from stocks are deployed, US defense companies would gain more contracts as the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on. This aid package was first reported by Politico.

Experts expect a boost in the order backlog of RTX, along with other major companies that receive government contracts, such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman, opens new tab, following the passage of the supplemental spending bill. – Rappler.com