WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. will send an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began, in a effort to help stall .
The aid will include anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems that U.S. forces are training Ukrainian troops on now - all key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested. Biden also said the U.S. will send $225 million more in humanitarian assistance to provide safe drinking water, medical supplies, food, health care, shelter and money for families to buy essential items.
The U.S. remains committed, Biden said in a statement, 鈥渢o supporting the Ukrainian people whose lives have been ripped apart by this war.鈥�
The aid comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convened a meeting in Brussels of more than 45 nations to discuss support for Ukraine. At the start of the meeting, Austin warned that the West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country's military fight along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in a grinding with Russia.
He urged the participating nations to demonstrate 鈥渙ur unwavering determination to get Ukraine the capabilities that it urgently needs to defend itself.鈥� And he warned, "We can鈥檛 afford to let up and we can鈥檛 lose steam. The stakes are too high.鈥�
Overall, since the war began in late February, the U.S. has committed about $5.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including this latest package. Officials said that about one-third of the latest $1 billion will be from presidential drawdown authority, which means the Pentagon will take weapons and equipment from it's own stock and ship them to Ukraine. The remaining two-thirds would be equipment and weapons purchased from industry by the U.S. and then transferred to Ukraine.
Austin's meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a two-day gathering of NATO defense ministers at the alliance鈥檚 headquarters.
Increased arms supplies can鈥檛 come too soon for the Ukrainian forces battling to keep Russia from taking control of their country鈥檚 industrial east after more than 3 1/2 months of war. In his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defense systems.
鈥淎llies are committed to continue providing the military equipment that Ukraine needs to prevail, including heavy weapons and long-range systems,鈥� said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Tuesday that without help from the West, 鈥渨e will not be able to win this war.鈥� She said Ukraine uses 5,000 to 6,000 artillery rounds a day, while Russia uses 10 times that many.
The defense ministers also planned to discuss moves to beef up forces along NATO鈥檚 eastern flank and elsewhere, which have gathered strength since Russia invaded Ukraine.
鈥淭his will mean more presence, more capabilities and higher readiness, with more NATO forward deployed combat formations to strengthen our battlegroups in the East, more air, sea and cyber defenses, pre-positioned equipment and weapon stockpiles,鈥� Stoltenberg said.
On a separate but related subject, he wouldn鈥檛 commit to a timeframe for Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blocking the membership bids, accusing the Nordic nations of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists.
鈥淢y aim is to solve this issue as soon as possible, but since we are several nations involved in this process, there is no way to tell you exactly when we will solve it,鈥� Stoltenberg said.
Because of Turkey鈥檚 concerns, 鈥渢his will take some more time than we originally expected,鈥� he said.
Erdogan signaled Wednesday he won鈥檛 back down.
鈥淲e will most definitely not change our stance until Sweden and Finland take clear, concrete and determined steps in the fight against terrorism,鈥� Erdogan said in an address to his ruling party鈥檚 legislators.
All 30 NATO members must agree to admit new members.
U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said at a meeting Wednesday in Oslo that a goal for the NATO summit in Madrid is ensuring 鈥渢hat Sweden and Finland are successfully on the next step towards accession into NATO.鈥� But he said it's also important to work with Turkey and mitigate its concerns.
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Corder reported from The Hague, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.
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Follow the AP鈥檚 coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Lolita C. Baldor And Mike Corder, The Associated Press
