U.S. announces new $200M defense package for Ukraine

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday announced a $200 million military aid package for Ukraine, which includes additional military hardware it can use in its ongoing fight against Russia.

The package, announced during Austin's opening remarks at the 16th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels includes AIM-9M munitions for a new air-defense system as well as new artillery and rocket ammunition, precision aerial munitions, anti-tank weapons, and equipment to counter Russian drones.

"We must continue to rush Ukraine what it needs to meet its current challenges, even as we continue to develop Ukraine's combat capabilities to ward off future dangers," Austin said. "So we're here to dig deep to meet Ukraine's most urgent needs -- especially for air defense and ammunition."

Austin said the new pledge brought the total U.S. commitment to Ukraine's defense to about $43.9 billion since the start of the Russian invasion.

Wednesday's summit comes as Ukraine funding from Congress was cut from a bill meant to avoid a government shutdown late last month amid growing Republican opposition.

Austin pushed for continued support of Ukraine against Moscow's aggression. Last week, the Russian military struck a supermarket in the Kharkiv village of Hroza, killing at least 51 civilians, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called a terrorist attack.

"We saw that again last week with the horrifying Russian missile strike in the Kharkiv region that killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians," Austin said. "We should be ready for the Kremlin to again bombard Ukraine this winter with cruise missiles and drones.

"We should expect Putin's forces to cruelly and deliberately put Ukraine's cities, civilians, and critical infrastructure in their gunsights. By turning civilians into targets, Putin hopes to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people and plunge them into bitter cold and darkness."