President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that his administration will send Ukraine another $800 million security assistance package, as well as an additional $500 million in direct economic assistance as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.
The Department of Defense (DoD) wrote in a press release that the security package includes heavy artillery weapons, dozens of Howitzers, over 121 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems, and 144,000 rounds of ammunition.
Over the past two months, the administration has already sent thousands of weapons and equipment to Ukraine “at record speed,” including anti-armor and anti-[air] missile[s], helicopters, drones, grenade launchers, machine guns, rifles, radar systems and more than 50 million rounds of ammunition.
“The United States has now committed more than $4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including approximately $3.4 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked invasion on February 24,” the DoD said.
Biden asserted that giving billions of dollars in American taxpayer money to Ukraine is “our responsibility.”
“Every American taxpayer, every member of our Armed Forces can be proud of the fact that our country’s generosity and the skill and service of our military helped arm and repel Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, to beat back Putin’s savagery that tried to seize Ukraine’s capital and wipe out Ukraine’s government,” Biden said.
Biden also announced a new program called “Unite for Ukraine,” which will help Ukrainian refugees to come directly to the United States from Europe.
“This new humanitarian parole program will complement the existing legal pathways available to Ukrainians, including immigrant visas and refugee processing. It will provide an expedient channel for secure, legal migration from Europe to the United States for Ukrainians who have a U.S. sponsor, such as a family or an NGO,” Biden said. “This program will be fast. It will be streamlined. And it will ensure the United States honors its commitment to go to the Ukrainian people and need not go through our southern border.”
“Last month, when I was in Europe, I announced that the United States would welcome 100,000 Ukrainians so that we share in the responsibility of supporting Ukrainians fleeing Putin’s war machine,” Biden added. “We’ve already welcomed tens of thousands of Ukrainians to the United States.”
According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), as of April 20, 5,034,439 Ukrainians have fled their country due to the ongoing Russian invasion. The agency said 90 percent of Ukrainian refugees are women and children.
