The United States will provide a new $2.3 billion package of security assistance for Ukraine that will include key air defense and anti-tank weapons, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday.

The announcement comes as Kyiv’s weakened and outgunned forces struggle to hold back invading Russian troops, with Moscow regularly claiming the capture of new villages in the eastern Ukraine.

“The United States will soon announce more than $2.3 billion in new security assistance for Ukraine,” Austin said at the start of a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov.

“This package… will provide more air defense interceptors, anti-tank weapons, and other critical munitions” drawn from US stocks, Austin said.

“It will also enable the United States to procure more Patriot and NASAMS air defense interceptors that will be provided on an accelerated timeline,” the US defense chief said.
Umerov thanked Austin for Washington’s assistance, saying that “with that support, we will stop Russia and stop the aggression.”The United States has been a key military backer of Ukraine, committing more than $51 billion in weapons, ammunition and other security assistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.