US President Joe Biden informed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington will provide an additional $1 billion in security assistance, which will include artillery and other weapons.
"I informed President Zelenskyy that the United States is providing another $1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems that the Ukrainians need to support their defensive operations in the Donbas", POTUS said.
Biden also revealed that Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin has been undertaking efforts in Brussels to "coordinate additional international support" for the Ukrainian military. Austin, in turn, named some of the weapons that the US will be supplying Ukraine with under the new aid package:
"The United States will provide an additional $1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine and that includes our twelfth drawdown from DoD inventory since August of 2021. It includes guided MLRS munitions, 18 of M777 howitzers and the tactical vehicles to tow them and 36,000 rounds of 155-millimeter ammunition," Austin said
In addition, Biden pledged to allocate an additional $225 million in humanitarian aid for Ukrainian citizens in the form of drinking water, medicine, food, shelter and cash for purchasing essentials.
Moscow has repeatedly warned western countries against shipping weapons to Ukraine, arguing that it only perpetuates the conflict that western leaders claim they want to end as soon as possible. Russia also cautioned European states that Kiev can't guarantee the weapons they send to the country won't end up in the wrong hands. According to the Kremlin, shipments of weapons create additional security risks in Europe.
Last month, Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle revealed that her organisation is already preparing for a surge in illegal weapons stemming from the conflict in Ukraine on the European black market. She recalled that 30 years ago, a similar surge was witnessed following the end of the Yugoslav wars, with weapons from those times still being used by regional criminal groups today.