Announces Largest Aid Package For Kyiv On Independence Day, President Biden: US Committed To Support Ukrainian People's Struggle

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden announced an aid package worth US$3 billion or around IDR 44,509.5 billion for Ukraine, as the country celebrates the 31st anniversary of its independence.

The largest aid package since the Russian invasion, could take months or years to arrive in Kyiv.

"The United States is committed to supporting the Ukrainian people as they continue to fight for sovereignty," Biden said.

The package uses funds from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) allocated by Congress to allow President Joe Biden's Administration to source weapons from industry, rather than taking weapons from the United States' weapons stockpile.

The pace depends on whether the defense company has an assembly line already working on the weapons, how much capacity they have, and how long it takes to adjust the schedule if needed.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the range of weapons systems would take a different amount of time to reach Ukraine, with surface-to-air missiles and radar systems taking longer.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said in some cases it took one, two, or even three years to get weapons into Ukraine.

"The capability package here is really aimed at getting Ukraine what they're going to need in the medium to long term, so it's irrelevant to today's fight, tomorrow, next week," Kahl told reporters.

"This is relevant to Ukraine's ability to defend itself and prevent further aggression a year from now, two years from now," he added.

The Pentagon said the new package would include six additional surface-to-air missile systems known as NASAMS, 24 counter-artillery radars, a Puma drone, and a counter-drone system known as VAMPIRE.

The VAMPIRE system uses small missiles to shoot drones out of the sky.

In total, the United States has provided more than $13.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Biden Administration in January 2021. Since 2014, the United States has provided more than $15.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.