US Prepares New IDR 44 Trillion Military Aid For Ukraine, Focuses On Ammunition And Defense Systems

Delivery of United States military aid to Ukraine. (Twitter/@USEmbassyKyiv)

JAKARTA - The United States will announce a new security aid package for Ukraine of about $3 billion on Wednesday, a US official said on Tuesday.

It said the package was being prepared to coincide with Ukraine's Independence Day which falls on Wednesday.

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' stockpile.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the new aid did not appear to include the types of weapons that had not been provided before to the Ukrainian military. However, the official said aid would focus on ammunition and more medium-term goals such as defense systems.

Under USAI, weapons can take months to arrive in Europe given that companies have to acquire them. The official said the number and mix of weapons could change before an official announcement.

So far, Washington is known to have provided $10.6 billion worth of military aid to the Ukrainian government under President Volodymyr Zelensky since February 24.

Separately, Germany plans to deliver further weapons, including air defense systems, rocket launchers and precision munitions, to Ukraine worth more than 500 million euros by 2023, a source told Reuters.