Ukrainian soldiers prepare shells with flyers near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Aug 13, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
WASHINGTON - The United States will provide an additional package of military equipment to Ukraine worth $200 million, days after the White House requested further funding from Congress to bolster Kyiv in its conflict with Russia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that items in the latest package include air defense munitions, artillery rounds, anti-armor capabilities, and additional mine-clearing equipment.
In a press release containing a detailed list of equipment to be sent to Ukraine, the Pentagon said this is the 44th tranche of equipment for Ukraine that's going to be extracted from Department of Defense inventories since August 2021.
The latest assistance, the release said, will utilize assistance previously authorized by Biden under Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine that remained after a revaluation process concluded in June to determine what went wrong in an inconsistency in calculating the value of military equipment sent to Ukraine.
The latest assistance will utilize assistance previously authorized by Biden under Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine that remained after a revaluation process concluded in June to determine what went wrong in an inconsistency in calculating the value of military equipment sent to Ukraine, according to a press release by the Pentagon
The Pentagon admitted that an accounting error resulted in an overestimation of $6.2 billion in the value of weapons packages provided to Ukraine during a two-year period ending Sept 30 this year.
Adding Monday's announced assistance to the sum, the Biden administration has committed $43.7 billion in security assistance for Ukraine since the beginning of the administration, including $43 billion since Russia launched its special military operation against Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022, the Pentagon said in a separate release.
ALSO READ: Ukraine designates Black Sea corridors for merchant vessels
In another development, the Biden administration on Thursday asked Congress to approve $24 billion for Ukraine. The request was contained in a spending package totaling about $40 billion that also included $4 billion for border security and $12 billion related to disaster relief.
Biden has vowed to assist Ukraine "as long as it takes," but his administration's relentless spending on Ukraine has faced opposition in Congress, especially from far-right Republicans who argued against aiding Ukraine indefinitely.
Pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to ensure transparency in the taxpayer-supported Ukraine aid money, with Republicans - and even some progressive Democrats - urging stringent audit.
In a sign of sharp partisan divide on the issue, though, Senate Democrats last month blocked an amendment to the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act that would create a new office conducting oversight into US military assistance for Ukraine.
ALSO READ: Peace efforts falter while US sends more military aid to Ukraine
In this file photo dated May 12, 2022, Ukraine's Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko speaks to an AFP journalist during an interview in Kyiv. (PHOTO / AFP)
Economic ties with Germany
Also on Monday, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and his visiting German counterpart Christian Lindner signed a joint declaration to deepen economic cooperation between the two countries, the Ukrainian government press service said.
The document signed by Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and his German counterpart Christian Lindner envisages strengthening the partnership between Ukraine and Germany in customs policy, monitoring of financial markets, public investment management, and privatization of state-owned enterprises
The document envisages strengthening the partnership between Ukraine and Germany in customs policy, monitoring of financial markets, public investment management, and privatization of state-owned enterprises.
Commenting on the document, Marchenko said it would help accelerate Ukraine's integration into the European Union.
Since February 2022, Germany has been one of the biggest donors to Ukraine's budget, providing 1.55 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in direct support, Marchenko noted.
For his part, Lindner pledged that Germany's aid for Ukraine would continue.
Later in the day, Lindner met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to discuss macro-financial assistance, investment projects and prospects for Germany's participation in Ukraine's reconstruction.
READ MORE: Some 1.1m people came to Germany from Ukraine in 2022
According to the Ukrainian government, Ukraine and Germany's state-owned promotional bank KfW are implementing five joint investment projects worth 247 million euros and preparing three more projects totaling 73 million euros.
Lindner arrived in Kyiv earlier in the day.
