This Nov. 3, 2022, photo shows a Ukrainian border guard carrying a missile launcher near the Ukrainian border with Russia and Belarus. Photo: Sergei SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images
The Biden administration announced a new $400 million military assistance package for Ukraine on Friday.
The big picture: The U.S. has now committed more than $18.2 billion in security aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion earlier this year, per the U.S. Department of Defense.
State of play: The new aid package represents the "beginning of a contracting process to provide additional priority capabilities" to Ukraine, per the Pentagon.
- Those capabilities include funding to refurbish HAWK air defense missiles, refurbished tanks, armored riverine boats, and explosive drones, among other things, as well as funding for "training, maintenance, and sustainment."
Of note: The U.S. is also setting up a new command post in Germany to oversee all weapons transfers and military training for Ukraine, per AP.
- Dubbed the Security Assistance Group Ukraine, the headquarters represents a longer-term approach to aid the country in its war with Russia, a Pentagon spokesperson said, per AP.
What they're saying: This aid package "underscores the continued U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine by meeting their most urgent needs, while also building the capacity of Ukraine’s Armed Forces to defend its sovereignty over the long term," the Defense Department said.
Zoom out: The latest aid package comes days after Russia launched a new series of missile strikes across Ukraine, destroying critical energy and water infrastructure across the country.
Meanwhile, national security adviser Jake Sullivan was in Kyiv Friday meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and others to "underscore the United States’ steadfast support to Ukraine and its people as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity," the White House said.
Go deeper: Ukraine "concerned" about U.S. Republican threats to cut aid, FM says