US to send $1.8 billion in aid, Patriot battery to Ukraine

The US will send $1.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine in a massive package that will for the first time include a Patriot missile battery and precision-guided bombs for their fighter jets, unnamed US officials said, Associated Press reports.

The package is said to be processed as the Biden administration prepares to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington.

According to the officials, the aid signals an expansion by the US in the kinds of advanced weaponry it will send to Ukraine to bolster the country’s air defences against what has been an increasing barrage of Russian missile strikes.

The package reportedly includes about $1 billion in weapons from Pentagon stocks and another $800 million in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds weapons, ammunition, training and other assistance.

The timing of the military aid announcement — as Zelenskyy makes his first trip out of Ukraine since the war began — sends a strong message of continued US support for Ukraine as the war drags on.

The aid comes as Congress is poised to approve another $44.9 billion in assistance for Ukraine as part of a massive spending bill.

The decision to send the Patriot battery comes despite threats from Russia’s Foreign Ministry that the delivery of the advanced surface-to-air missile system would be considered a provocative step and that the Patriot and any crews accompanying it would be a legitimate target for Moscow’s military.

It’s not clear exactly when the Patriot would arrive on the front lines in Ukraine since the US troops will have to train Ukrainian forces on how to use the high-tech system. The training could take several weeks and is expected to be done at the Grafenwoehr training area in Germany. To date, all training of Ukraine forces by the US and the West has taken place in European countries.