Air defence munitions among final $250m US aid package for Ukraine this year

Air defence and rocket artillery munitions are among the supplies being provided by the United States in its final military aid package to Ukraine this year.

Kyiv will also receive 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, anti-armour munitions and more than 15 million rounds of ammunition.

The ordnance package also includes National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), Stinger missiles, additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and Javelin weapon systems.

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The military aid comes under previous drawdowns for Ukraine, and could mark the final aid package Ukraine receive from the US due to difficulties in Congress.

Talks in Congress to deliver more funding to Ukraine have stalled, with fresh approval needed if Washington is to send any more military aid to the country.

The Biden administration has already sent 54 aid packages to Ukraine.

According to the Pentagon, the military aid will help support Ukraine’s most pressing needs.

But it said it was critical for Congress to take action in the New Year to allow US support for Ukraine to continue.

Earlier this month, the UK's Foreign Secretary urged US Republicans to back Ukraine as they held out on authorising tens of billions of dollars' worth of military support.

Lord David Cameron said if the support package was not approved, the message sent out would be "extremely bad".

Ukraine is keen to cement closer ties with the West, celebrating Christmas Day on 25 December for the first time in over 100 years.

The last time Ukraine celebrated Christmas in line with the Gregorian calendar and the rest of the Western world was in 1917

But that did not stop Russia from targeting the country, launching 31 drones and two missiles at targets in southern Ukraine on Christmas Day.