US announces new round of military assistance for Ukraine

White House says Russia ‘will not prevail’ after announcing $125m aid package meant to bolster Ukrainian air defences.

The United States has announced a new round of military assistance to Ukraine, following a phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden.

The Pentagon stated on Friday that the latest aid package would be worth $125m, and Biden said that it would include air defence munitions, ammunition and anti-armour missiles.

“Russia will not prevail in this conflict. The independent people of Ukraine will prevail – and the United States, our allies, and our partners, will continue to stand with them every step of the way,” Biden said in a statement.

The US has supplied Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars worth of military assistance since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its territory in February 2022.

In the years since, Ukrainian forces have struggled to expel Russian forces as they labour under shortages of crucial supplies, with no end to the conflict in sight.

I spoke with @POTUS Joe Biden and thanked him for his warm congratulations on Ukraine’s National Flag Day and the upcoming Independence Day.

The Ukrainian people are grateful to President Biden, his administration, Congress, and the entire American people for their unwavering…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 23, 2024

“Ukraine critically needs the supply of weapons from the announced packages, particularly additional air defence systems for the reliable protection of cities, communities and critical infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said in a statement posted to social media

He thanked Biden for “unwavering support since the first days of the full-scale war”.

The latest round of assistance also comes as Ukrainian forces continue to do battle inside Russia, more than two weeks after launching a daring cross-border raid into the Russian province of Kursk.

The presence of Ukrainian troops inside Russian territory has become an embarrassing setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has blamed countries such as the US for enabling the Ukrainian assaults through the provision of long-distance weapons.

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk shared a video on Thursday that he said shows Ukraine striking a Russian platoon base in Kursk with US-supplied GBU-39 bombs.

While some analysts have expressed concern that Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil could increase the likelihood of an escalation of the conflict, the US has maintained that it does not coordinate with Ukraine on such operations but instead provides it with weapons to fight back against Russia’s invasion.

Earlier on Friday, the US government’s treasury, state and commerce departments announced further economic sanctions targeting Russia, aimed at narrowing its ability to circumvent previous restrictions.

Critics say that US sanctions have made life more difficult for everyday people in Russia without stopping the government from waging war in Ukraine.