US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second left) looks at weapons while he tours a State Border Guard of Ukraine Detached Commandant Office of Security and Resource Supply site on Sept 7, 2023, in the Kyiv Oblast. (PHOTO / AFP)

WASHINGTON/KYIV - The US State Department on Wednesday announced this year's final package of weapons and equipment to aid Ukraine, exhausting existing funding still at the Biden administration's disposal.

The arms and equipment in the package are worth up to $250 million and are being provided "under previously directed drawdowns for Ukraine", Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

"Capabilities provided in today's package include air defense munitions, other air defense system components, additional ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, anti-armor munitions, and over 15 million rounds of ammunition," Blinken said.

Warning that the funding Congress previously approved for providing assistance to Ukraine would soon dry up, the Biden administration said last week that lacking lawmakers' renewed commitment to further appropriation meeting the White House's over $60 billion supplemental budget request for Ukraine, the administration would be able to announce but one additional package for Kyiv before year's end

Assistance packages such as this just-announced one fall under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows weapons to be pulled directly from the stocks of the Department of Defense so that they can be delivered to Ukraine in a swift manner.

The United States has already used up funds from another form of assistance for Ukraine, the congressionally-appropriated Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which enables the Department of Defense to purchase weapons for Kyiv by signing contracts with arms manufacturers.

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In his statement, Blinken reiterated the urgent need for Congress to get their work done. "It is imperative that Congress act swiftly, as soon as possible, to advance our national security interests by helping Ukraine defend itself and secure its future," he said.

Warning that the funding Congress previously approved for providing assistance to Ukraine would soon dry up, the Biden administration said last week that lacking lawmakers' renewed commitment to further appropriation meeting the White House's over $60 billion supplemental budget request for Ukraine, the administration would be able to announce but one additional package for Kyiv before year's end.

"We are still planning one more aid package to Ukraine later this month," John Kirby, the National Security Council's Coordinator for Strategic Communications, told reporters on Dec 18.

"However, when that one's done ... we will have no more replenishment authority available to us, and we're going to need Congress to act without delay, as we have been saying," Kirby said.

ALSO READ: Ukraine receives US Abrams battle tanks

A Ukrainian member of an elite drone unit points out a Russian tank as a target during an attack in the outskirts of Kremmina, Ukraine, Aug 20, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

On Capitol Hill, Republicans are withholding their votes for new money for Ukraine, conditioning their approval on Democrats making compromise to satisfy the GOP's demand for tighter control measures on the border to keep incoming migrants at bay.

Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022, the United States has committed more than $44.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the Pentagon said in a fact sheet published Wednesday.

Boost its defense production

Also on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country has tripled the production of weapon and military equipment this year.

Next year, Ukraine will focus on the production of explosives and gunpowder to strengthen its position in the conflict with Russia, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

The output of ammunition for artillery and drones as well as missile production has also increased this year, Zelensky was quoted by the presidential press service as saying, without providing exact figures.

Next year, Ukraine will focus on the production of explosives and gunpowder to strengthen its position in the conflict with Russia, Zelensky added.

According to the president, currently about 300,000 people are employed in Ukraine's defense industry.

Meanwhile, the country has launched mass production of long-range kamikaze drones, the Ukrayinska Pravda media outlet reported, citing Ukrainian Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin.

"We are manufacturing dozens of these drones. Next year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are set to receive more than a thousand such drones," Kamyshin told a press conference.

According to the official, the new drones have a flying range of more than 1,000 km.

READ MORE: Report: Ukraine attacks Russian vessels with experimental drones

This year, Ukraine has allocated 40 billion hryvnias ($1.06 billion) for drone production.

Zelensky said last week that his country plans to produce about 1 million drones next year.

Ukraine also plans to spend 1.69 trillion hryvnias, or 21.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), on national defense in 2024.