President Joe Biden announced a significant new military aid package for Ukraine Thursday at the NATO summit in Washington.
The president made the announcement about the $225 million package during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Presidential Drawdown Authority package will include capabilities to help Ukraine to repel Russian forces. Among the items included are a Patriot missile battery, munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS); Stinger anti-aircraft missiles; ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); and 155-millimeter and 105-millimeter artillery rounds.
Zelenskyy thanked the president and added that Ukraine also needs some “quick steps … to lift limitations for our Ukrainian soldiers,” a reference to the restrictions that the U.S. places on the use of its weapons.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy expressed optimism that his forces would be given more freedom to use Western-supplied arms to strike Russian targets, something Ukrainian officials have pleaded for to better defend against Russia’s invasion.
As Zelenskyy visited Capitol Hill in Washington to meet with congressional leaders, VOA’s Ukrainian Service asked him if he thought all restrictions on the Ukrainian military will be lifted.
“We count on it,” he said.
His talks on the sidelines of the NATO summit included sessions with House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“I explained that the will of the Congress was to allow them the flexibility to use the weapons and assistance that were sent to prosecute the war as they see fit,” Johnson told VOA’s Ukrainian Service. “I believe that’s what Congress intended.”
Jeffries described talks with Zelenskyy as “very positive.”
“We made clear that we stand strongly with the people of Ukraine in their brave and courageous fight against Russian aggression,” he told VOA’s Ukrainian Service.
Thursday attacks
Ukraine’s military said Thursday that Russian forces attacked the Sumy region overnight with two ballistic missiles.
The Ukrainian air force also said the country’s air defenses shot down all six aerial drones launched by Russia, with intercepts taking place over the Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv and Mykolaiv regions.
Vitaliy Kim, regional governor of Mykolaiv, said debris from a downed drone sparked a fire, but that there were no injuries from the attack.
Officials in Khmelnytskyi and Lviv reported no damage or casualties in their areas.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed two Ukrainian aerial drones over the Bryansk region, as well as one drone over each of the Tambov, Tula and Moscow regions.
VOA Ukrainian Service contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press.
