"Today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war," Biden said in the statement, which the White House released ahead of his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The assistance includes $2.4 billion for the purchase of new arms for Ukraine, as well as $5.55 billion worth of weapons to be drawn from Pentagon stockpiles under the so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority.
As part of an initiative to increase Ukraine's air defenses, the aid package instructs the Department of Defense to provide Kiev with an additional refurbished Patriot air defense battery and associated Patriot missiles, Biden said in the statement.
Additionally, the package includes Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) long-range munition, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and air-to-ground munitions intended to strengthen Ukraine's defense industrial base and support its maintenance.
The Thursday announcement came hours after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented it was unlikely the president would announce a decision on clearing Ukraine to use US-provided, long-range weapons for strikes into Russia.
Russian President Vladmir Putin earlier highlighted that NATO countries were toeing the line as to whether they intended to become a direct player in the ongoing Ukraine conflict in light of reports concerning the potential approval for long-range weapons. Such a move would effectively "open up the avenue for escalation."
"Let's face it," retired US Army Lt. Gen. Earl Rasmussen earlier told Sputnik, "when [Zelensky] goes deep into Russia, those weapons systems basically need intelligence from the United States - NATO and specifically the US."
"The intelligence information provided, the targeting, the programing, all is not done by Ukrainians. So basically the West becomes a full participant in the conflict," he noted.
Western countries have provided hundreds of billions of dollars worth of aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's special military operation in February 2022.
Aid shipments began in 2022 with artillery munitions and training and have escalated to include tanks, advanced air-defense systems, missiles and cluster munitions. The Kremlin has consistently warned against the West's continued arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying that they only prolong the conflict.