US sends $425m weapons package to Ukraine just days before election

The United States has approved a new $425m military aid package for Ukraine as it continues to repel Russian attacks.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the shipment, which pulls from the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) and includes a range of critical defence supplies.

The PDA allows the president to quickly transfer military equipment directly from Department of Defence stocks to allied nations, bypassing standard congressional approvals in urgent situations.

• Keeping the peace with KFOR: My time on patrol with British soldiers in Kosovo
• Russia loses more personnel than ever before in the bloodiest month of the invasion
• Find out how the US honours its fallen with the mesmerising Changing of the Guard

This military aid package includes Stinger missiles, air-to-ground munitions, additional rounds for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars), as well as 155mm and 105mm artillery shells.

Other items include counter-unmanned aerial systems, Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-armour weapons, Stryker Armoured Personnel Carriers, small arms and ammunition, medical supplies and other essentials for sustaining Ukraine’s defence operations.

"This latest package demonstrates the United States' commitment to surge security assistance to Ukraine that Congress has authorised," said Mr Blinken.

With just three days until the US election, he added that the administration was determined to exhaust its remaining support before President Joe Biden leaves office.

The US has been the largest donor to Ukraine, providing more than $64.1bn in military assistance since Russia's full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.