SIMI VALLEY, Calif. \u2014 The U.S. is sending Ukraine another $1 billion in long-term security aid, nearly half of the budget left in the Pentagon\u2019s account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This $988 million package will come from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, through which the U.S. buys new equipment for Ukraine rather than shipping kit directly from American stocks. As of last week, the U.S. had just over $2 billion left in the fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest round will go toward rocket munitions, drones and equipment needed to repair weapons within Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAmerica and our friends have become the arsenal of Ukrainian democracy,\u201d said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Austin announced the package at the Reagan National Defense Forum, a national security talkfest in California he\u2019s attended all four years in office. During his speech, he defended the Biden Pentagon\u2019s legacy, which has in large part been defined by its support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion, Austin helped form a group of countries that coordinates assistance to Kyiv. America has since sent more than $62 billion in security aid, alongside $57 billion more from its partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such support is coming at increased cost for Russia. Austin said that its military has suffered 700,000 casualties, a number that is accelerating even as Moscow continues to make slight gains in Ukraine\u2019s east.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multiple European political and defense officials \u2014 from Sweden to Lithuania \u2014 are with Austin at the forum making the case for continued aid to lawmakers and people who will staff the incoming Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Austin referenced the uncertainty around this transition in his remarks. The president-elect has urged an end to the war in Ukraine, though without committing to an outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can continue to stand up to the Kremlin, or we can let Putin have his way \u2014 and condemn our children and grandchildren to live in a world of chaos and conflict,\u201d Austin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis administration has made its choice, and so has a bipartisan coalition in Congress,\u201d he added. \u201cThe next administration must make its own choice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The defense secretary also said that Russia had now suffered 700,000 casualties since its invasion in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[160,29,36,19,126,30],"tags":[8628],"coauthors":[3458],"class_list":["post-70120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-newsletters","category-pentagon","category-reagan-defense-forum-smr","category-smr","tag-ukraine"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZEE2FPZ5VVGDRG6WDP23O2JVMY","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2024\/12\/07\/pentagon-chief-austin-announces-1-billion-in-long-term-ukraine-aid\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n