US commits further two billion dollars in drones, ammunition and aid to Ukraine

The announcement comes just days after US President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv and pledged America’s continuing commitment to Ukraine.

Mr Biden told President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people that “Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you”.

In a statement on Friday, the Pentagon said the aid includes weapons to counter Russia’s unmanned systems and several types of drones, including the upgraded Switchblade 600 Kamikaze drone, as well as electronic warfare detection equipment.

It also includes money for additional ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, artillery rounds and munitions for laser-guided rocket systems. But the Pentagon provided no details on how many rounds of any kind will be bought.

Including this latest package, the US has now committed more than 32 billion dollars (£26.6 billion) in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.

US Defence Secretary said in a statement that the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion is a chance for all who believe in freedom “to recommit ourselves to supporting Ukraine’s brave defenders for the long haul — and to recall that the stakes of Russia’s war stretch far beyond Ukraine”.

Mr Biden was scheduled to meet virtually Friday with other Group of Seven leaders and Mr Zelensky “to continue coordinating our efforts to support Ukraine and hold Russia accountable for its war”, the White House said.

Those efforts include what the White House called “sweeping” sanctions on over 200 people and entities “to further degrade Russia’s economy and diminish its ability to wage war against Ukraine”.

The Biden administration will also further restrict exports to Russia and raise tariffs on some Russian products imported to the US.

The White House statement also said: “G7 countries will continue to keep Russia’s sovereign assets immobilised until there is a resolution to the conflict that addresses Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and integrity.”

Just days after Mr Austin travelled to Kyiv in April 2022 to meet Mr Zelensky, he launched a now-monthly meeting of ministers of defence and defence chiefs to make sure momentum on assisting Ukraine does not fade.

The most recent meeting was last week in Brussels, and over the past year the sessions have resulted in regular announcements by international partners of increasingly lethal weapons systems to help Ukraine defend itself.

That effort also spawned a spin-off group of the chief weapons buyers for each partner nation. They now meet regularly to address the pressure that support for Ukraine has put on international weapons stockpiles, to make sure equipment continues to flow and manufacturing meets the demands.

Allies and partners, said Mr Austin, have committed more than 20 billion dollars (£16.6 billion) in security assistance to Ukraine, including tanks, armoured vehicles, air-defence systems, artillery systems and weapons.

“Difficult times may lie ahead, but let us remain clear-eyed about what is at stake in Ukraine,” Mr Austin said, “to ensure that a world of rules and rights is not replaced by one of tyranny and turmoil.”

The latest aid package uses the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to provide funding for longer-term contracts to buy weapons and equipment.

Unlike the presidential drawdown authority that the Pentagon has used repeatedly over the past year to pull weapons from its own stocks and quickly ship them to Ukraine, the USAI-funded equipment could take a year or two to get to the battlefront. As a result, it will do little to help Ukraine prepare for an expected new offensive in the spring.

According to the Pentagon, the money will also buy mine clearing and communications equipment and fund training, maintenance and sustainment for Ukraine’s forces.

On Thursday night, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that Mr Biden and Mr Zelensky discussed Ukraine’s request for F-16 fighter jets during the US president’s visit week to Kyiv.

European Union officials on Friday also pledged continued support to millions of Ukrainian refugees, as they marked the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

“Ukraine can win this war, but we will be with Ukraine as long as it takes,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told The Associated Press at a conference on migration near Athens.

Ms Johansson urged members to conclude long-running negotiations to adopt new EU-wide migration rules and to assist Ukrainians who wished to return home but maintain their temporary residence status in the EU.

More than eight million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war, according to the United Nations refugee agency, and nearly five million have registered for EU temporary protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe.

Bartosz Grodecki, the Polish deputy interior minister, whose country has taken in the most refugees traveling westward since the start of the war, said his government was prepared to receive more people who could be displaced by a widely anticipated spring offensive by Russian forces in Ukraine.

“We have this contingency planning,” Mr Grodecki told the AP. “I hope that it will not be necessary (but) … we’ve been trained, planned properly, and we know how to be prepared.”

Margaritis Schinas, the EU Commission vice president, said Vladimir Putin had failed in an effort to divide EU countries by applying pressure through high energy prices and migration.

“This is a sad anniversary, but it’s also an opportunity to draw some lessons from these horrible 12 months we’re leaving behind,” Mr Schinas said.

“And as far as (refugees from) Ukraine are concerned, the figures are stable,” he said.

Mr Schinas added that he did not think it was “automatic” that refugee numbers would increase in the coming months.

“If it happens, we are ready, but it doesn’t seem to be the case for the time being.”

The migration conference Friday was organised by Greece, Austria, Poland and Lithuania to discuss issues that include border management problems, including border wall construction.

Officials attending the conference observed a minute of silence for the victims of the war in Ukraine.