$39M U.S. anti-tank missiles sale to Ukraine approved: Reports

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Trump in their July 25 phone call "we are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States," a White House memo shows. Trump replied, "I would like you to do us a favor though" before asking him to find out about a CrowdStrike conspiracy theory, per Axios cybersecurity reporter Joe Uchill.

The big picture: AP and other news outlets briefed by officials on the arms sale, which is expected to be confirmed officially soon, report that the deal is separate to the nearly $400 million in military aid Trump confirmed last month he had withheld from Ukraine. That aid has been released, according to ABC.

• Per Reuters, the weapons deal was finalized weeks before Trump’s call with Zelensky in which they discussed the possibility of Ukraine investigating 2020 candidate Joe Biden and his son.

Background: Politico notes that Javelins have featured in American military support to Ukraine since the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, pointing to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service showing that the U.S. has provided $1.5 billion in military assistance to the Ukrainian government from 2014 to June this year.