Pentagon announces new military aid to Ukraine worth $400 million

(Patria) - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced new arms aid to Ukraine worth $400 million during a working visit to Kyiv yesterday.

The announcement of new military aid to Kyiv comes ahead of the US presidential election scheduled in two weeks, on November 5.

Austin's visit to Ukraine, his fourth and likely last as Pentagon chief in the Joe Biden administration, is expected to focus on US efforts to strengthen Kyiv's defense capabilities as it faces Russian advances on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.

However, despite the newly expressed solidarity with Kyiv, no change is expected in US policy regarding the increasingly vocal demands of President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow his country to use weapons to strike deep into Russian territory.

"The US understands what is at stake here," Austin told Zelensky, announcing new aid in ammunition, armored vehicles, and anti-tank weapons.

The upcoming US elections will pit Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has shown reluctance and caution towards continued support for Ukraine, against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

However, Austin dismisses concerns that Trump might abandon support for Kyiv, Hina reports.

"In these two and a half years, I have seen nothing but bipartisan support for Ukraine, and I expect to continue to see it in Congress," Austin said.

"Austin arrived in Kyiv after a series of meetings that US President Joe Biden had in Berlin with key European partners," said the head of the Ukrainian president's office, Serhiy Leshchenko.

According to him, after the US president's meetings in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, there is a need to "align positions".

A US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia has so far suffered 600,000 killed and wounded soldiers in Ukraine, with September being the month with the highest number of killed and wounded.