US announces $500M military aid package for Ukraine

BERLIN

The US on Thursday announced a $500 million military aid package for Ukraine.

“We must not let up and that's why I'm announcing today another presidential drawdown authority package valued at $500 million. It includes additional missiles for Ukrainian Air Defense, more ammunition, more air-to-ground munitions and other equipment to support Ukraine's F-16s,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said at the opening session of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Ramstein, Germany.

“Ukraine's survival is on the line, but so is the security of Europe, the United States and the world, and that's why the 50 members of this contact group continue to stand united with Ukraine,” he added.

Austin warned that “the stakes are still enormous for all of our security.”

The future of the Ramstein group and especially American support for Ukraine are reportedly in doubt, as US President-elect Donald Trump has been very critical of the amount of US aid sent to the Eastern European country. He also has expressed an interest in bringing an end to the war but has not said how he would accomplish it.

Since the Ukraine Defense Contact Group's founding in April 2022, the US, its allies and partners have committed more than $122 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, according to Lloyd.

The group of more than 50 nations, also known as the Ramstein group, includes members of NATO as well as most of the European Union. It was formed by Austin in April 2022, after the start if Russia’s war on Ukraine, and is aimed at coordinating military support for Ukraine’s war against neighboring Russia.