$2.3 Billion in New Military Assistance to Ukraine

Good morning, Minister Umerov and welcome back to the Pentagon. (00:06) Rustem, it was great to see you in Brussels three weeks ago for the 23rd meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Thanks for your close and continuing partnership. Now, Ukraine is in a tough fight and has been ever since the start of Putin's reckless war of choice. The Kremlin continues to intensify its bombardment of your cities and civilians. But I continue to be impressed by the skill of your forces and your troops continue to fend off Russia's attacks with grit, ingenuity, and courage. (00:40) So make no mistake, Ukraine is not alone and the United States will never waver in our support. Alongside some 50 allies and partners, we'll continue to provide the critical capabilities that Ukraine needs to push back Russian aggression today and to deter Russian aggression tomorrow. And I am proud that the United States will soon announce more than $2.3 billion in new security assistance for Ukraine. This package, under Presidential Drawdown Authority, will provide more air defense interceptors, anti-tank weapons, and other critical munitions from US inventories. It'll also enable the United States to procure more Patriot NASAMS, Air Defense interceptors, which will be provided on an accelerated timeline by the re-sequencing of deliveries for some foreign military sales. (01:35) Now, as we look ahead to the NATO Summit next week, Rustem, we'll take steps to build a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine. Just weeks ago, President Zelenskyy and President Biden signed a crucial 10-year bilateral security agreement, and that reflects our strong and enduring support for Ukraine. So I look forward to discussing more ways to meet Ukraine's immediate security needs and to build a future force to ward off more Russian aggression. (02:02) Rustem, it's great to see you. Thanks for making the trip. Andrei, welcome as well. Good to see you. I'm grateful for your partnership and friendship, and I look forward to a good discussion.

Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for hosting us. Thank you very much for personal leading the UDCG and our partners. We appreciate it. We appreciate for the comprehensive assistance and all the support you've been giving us. With that support, we've stopped Russia, stopped the aggression towards people, towards our values, national interests, and we look forward to discuss with you how we could continue our partnership and be in future member of NATO. Hopefully soon, Ukraine will receive its invitation, but at the moment we'll discuss the issues, how to increase our capabilities and plans. Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Umerov. I look forward to a great discussion. Thanks everybody.

Thank you.