"I am proud that the United States has just announced its latest security assistance package for Ukraine, valued at $200 million," Austin told reporters ahead of a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels.
The new assistance package includes AIM-9M munitions for a new air defense system that we will soon deliver to Ukraine, as well as artillery and rocket ammunition, precision aerial munitions, anti-tank weapons, and equipment to counter Russian drones, the official added.
The same day, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the US administration is committed to supporting Ukraine for "as long as it takes" and that US allies share the "burden" of assistance with Washington.
"Our allies and Ukrainian people can rest assured that the Biden administration, with the support of a bipartisan majority of the US Congress and the American people, will work so that Ukraine receives the assistance it needs," Yellen said ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary fund and the World Bank, adding that Washington cannot let its support to Ukraine be interrupted.
Western countries have been providing military aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation in February 2022. The aid evolved from artillery munitions and training in 2022 to heavier weapons, including tanks, later that year and in 2023. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev.