US Provides New $81.5 Trillion Aid To Ukraine: Includes HIMARS Ammunition And NASAMS Surface-to-Air Missiles

Illustration of the impact of Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory. (Wikimedia Commons/kh.dsns.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - The United States has again announced its latest aid to Ukraine worth US$5.5 billion or IDR 81.571.875.000.000, consisting of 4.5 billion US dollars in budgetary support and 1 billion US dollars in military aid, to help deal with the turmoil of the Russian invasion.

The $4.5 billion budget grant will fund urgent government needs including pension payments, social welfare, and health care costs, bringing total U.S. fiscal aid to Ukraine to $8.5 billion since Russia's invasion in February, the U.S. Agency for International Development said.

The funding, coordinated with the US Treasury through the World Bank, will be channeled to the Ukrainian government in stages, starting with a $3 billion disbursement in August, USAID said.

This follows previous transfers of $1.7 billion in July and $1.3 billion in June, USAID said. Washington has also provided billions of dollars in military and security support.

The $1 billion weapons package announced by the Pentagon is the largest single military package under President Joe Biden's withdrawal authority, including long-range rocket munitions and armored medical transport vehicles.

This assistance includes 50 M113 armored medical types of transport, ammunition for the US-supplied HIMARS long-range rocket launcher, as well as for the NASAMS surface-to-air missile system.

The fiscal and military aid package, drawn from a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine approved by Congress in May. Overall, the United States has contributed more than $18 billion to Ukraine this year.

"This economic aid is critical to supporting the Ukrainian people as they defend their democracy against Russia's war of unwarranted aggression," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

It is understood the new budgetary funds will help the Ukrainian government maintain essential functions, including social and financial assistance for its growing poor population, children with disabilities, and millions of displaced people, as the war continues.

Ukrainian officials estimate the country faces a fiscal shortfall of $5 billion a month, or 2.5 percent of pre-war gross domestic product, due to war costs and falling tax revenues.

Economists say that Ukraine's annual deficit will swell to 25 percent of GDP, compared with 3.5 percent before the conflict.

The injection of fresh cash for Ukraine comes as the war, which Russia calls a "special military operation," lasted into its sixth month, with millions of Ukrainians displaced and authorities warning of possible gas shortages in winter.