Media: US wants to spend 750 million on extra weapons in Ukraine

The administration of US President Joe Biden is expected to announce an additional $750 million in military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday or Thursday at the latest, two US officials told Reuters news agency.

The military aid will be funded through the so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), a provision in US law that gives the president the power to authorize transfers of goods and services in emergency situations without approval from parliament. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in this case is that emergency.

No final decision has yet been made on the exact composition of the weapons package, one of the officials said. According to The Washington Post, it is very likely that these are heavy anti-aircraft systems, such as anti-tank missiles, as well as ammunition and body armor. The US would also be willing to send Mi-17 helicopters that could be equipped to attack Russian vehicles, the paper said.

The expected new arms shipment comes on top of more than $2.4 billion in US military aid to Ukraine since President Joe Biden took office last year. $1.7 billion of that has been provided since Russia invaded the country on February 24.

The US Department of Defense will meet with top officials at the eight largest US arms manufacturers on Wednesday to discuss whether the industry will be able to meet Ukraine’s arms needs if the war with Russia lasts for years, the two officials who spoke to Reuters said. Among those companies are Raytheon Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and L3Harris Technologies.