Biden gives Ukraine's Zelensky another $625 MILLION in aid

Biden’s assistance to Ukraine grows to $16.8 BILLION since Russian invaded: President gives Zelensky another $625 million in military aid – including missiles, artillery and ammunition – as Ukrainian troops storm into Kherson

  • The White House announced $625 million in military aid for Ukraine on Tuesday
  • It includes four HIMARS rocket systems which have proved so effective 
  • ‘President Biden pledged to continue supporting Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian aggression for as long as it takes,’ said the White House
  • The package will also include 32 Howitzers and thousands of rounds
  • It brings total American assistance to almost $17 billion since the Russia invasion
  • Russian frontline has reportedly ‘collapsed’ near the southern city of Kherson 
  • Ukrainian troops have advanced more than 10 miles in a matter of hours 
  • Dozens of towns have been recaptured, as Putin’s armies retreat once again 
  • Comes just days after despot said the region would belong to Russia ‘forever’ 

The White House on Tuesday announced plans to  provide another $625 million in military aid to Ukraine – including advanced HIMARS rocket systems that have proved crucial in pushing back Russian forces.

Details emerged after President Joe Biden spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, to reassure him that the U.S. would not recognize Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukraine.

It brings the total American assistance to more than $16.8 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

The two leaders were joined by Vice President Kamala Harris on the call, which came as Russian forces suffered further setbacks near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

‘President Biden pledged to continue supporting Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian aggression for as long as it takes, including the provision today of a new $625 million security assistance package that includes additional weapons and equipment, including HIMARS, artillery systems and ammunition, and armored vehicles,’ the White House said in a readout of the call. 

‘President Biden also affirmed the continued readiness of the United States to impose severe costs on any individual, entity, or country that provides support to Russia’s purported annexation.’

The HIMARS have become a crucial weapon for Ukraine, allowing it to hit bridges used by Russia to supply its forces

The M142 High Mobility Rocket System (HIMARS) can launch multiple precision-guided rockets over a range of 50 miles – making it a key weapon for Ukrainian forces


President Joe Biden spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodomyr Zelensky on Tuesday, as the White House announced a $625 million package of further aid

What’s included with the latest $625 million in security assistance for Ukraine?

According to the Pentagon, the new package will include:

Four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and associated ammunition;

16 155mm Howitzers;

75,000 155mm artillery rounds;

500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;

1,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems;

16 105mm Howitzers;

30,000 120mm mortar rounds;

200 MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles;

200,000 rounds of small arms ammunition;

Obstacle emplacement equipment;

Claymore anti-personnel munitions.

The M142 system can launch multiple precision-guidance rockets with a range of up to 50 miles.

The latest commitment will bring the total delivered to 20.

A $1.8 billion package announced last week also included 18 HIMARS launch trucks, but they will come from a separate fund which means the US must first source and purchase the systems.

Tuesday’s announcement is a ‘presidential drawdown’ which means they can be taken directly from Pentagon stocks.

Secretary of State Anton Blinken said it was the 22nd drawdown of arms and ammunition for Ukraine.

‘The capabilities we are delivering are carefully calibrated to make the most difference on the battlefield and strengthen Ukraine’s hand at the negotiating table when the time is right,’ he said.

It also includes 32 Howitzer artillery pieces and 200 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, according to a Pentagon factsheet. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s frontline has collapsed in the south of Ukraine with dozens of towns liberated in a matter of hours, according to sources on both sides of the conflict.

Kyiv said its troops are ‘confidently advancing to the sea’ as videos showed the city of Davydiv Brid under their control along with a clutch of smaller settlements in the surrounding countryside.

Meanwhile pro-Russian military bloggers said their forces had retreated around 10 miles down the Dnipro River as the entire northern end of their territory west of the river fell into Ukrainian hands.

It comes just days after Putin declared the Kherson region – along with three others – to be part of Russia, vowing they would belong to Moscow ‘forever’. 

Ukrainian troops are pictured fighting in Kherson, in the south, with a heavy machinegun mounted on the top of a buggy which is being used to attack a Russian position

A Ukrainian soldier fires an anti-tank launcher from the top of an armoured car as they break through Russian lines to the north of Kherson

The northern end of the Russian frontline in Kherson has reportedly collapsed, with dozens of villages being retaken by the Ukrainians

Illia Ponomarenko, a respected journalist for the Kyiv Independent, tweeted: ‘Good lord, Russian front is apparently collapsing in the south. 

‘I just can’t keep up with reports on newly-liberated towns coming every other hour.’

Ukraine has been attacking in Kherson since early August after launching a much-vaunted counter-offensive to recapture the city – the only regional capital to have fallen to Putin’s troops during the seven-month war.

Until now the offensive had only made slow advances, taking territory in a few areas while being pushed back in others.

However, it now appears Russian troops – who are cut off from their main supply lines after Ukraine blew up the bridges across the Dnipro River with HIMARS – can no longer hold the line.

And news of Russian defeats in the region are significant, because Putin has based the majority of his best soldiers there – up to 30,000 of them, by some accounts.

Should Moscow’s armies retreat from Kherson, then questions will be raised over whether they can continue to hold any of the territory they have taken in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s offensive in the north – to the east of the city of Kharkiv – is continuing, with troops capturing two small settlements on the east bank of the Oskil River.

The territory is located just over seven miles from the border of Luhansk oblast, another of the regions that Putin annexed last week.

Ukrainian forces appear to be mopping up unoccupied towns in the region in preparation for an attack on the city of Svatove, in Luhansk.

That then opens the door for a thrust into Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, two major cities that Russia spent weeks capturing and which underpin its claim to be in control of the entire region.

Over the weekend, Russian troops pulled back from Lyman, a strategic eastern city that the Russians had used as a key logistics and transport hub, to avoid being encircled by Ukrainian forces. 

The city’s liberation gave Ukraine a key vantage point for pressing its offensive deeper into Russian-held territories.

Two days later, an Associated Press team reporting from the town saw at least 18 bodies of Russian soldiers still on the ground.

The Ukrainian military appeared to have collected the bodies of their comrades after fierce battles for control of Lyman, but didn’t immediately remove those of the Russians.

‘We fight for our land, for our children, so that our people can live better, but all this comes at a very high price,’ said a Ukrainian soldier who goes by ‘Rud’.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis called for the deployment of more weapons to Ukraine following the partial mobilization announcement by Russia last month.

In a video address to a conference in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Russia’s war against Ukraine on Tuesday, Perebyinis said the additional weapons wouldn’t lead to an escalation but instead would help to end the war sooner.

‘We need additional long-range artillery and ammunition, combat aircraft and armed vehicles to continue the liberation of occupied territory,’ the deputy minister said. 

Vladimir Putin declared Kherson – along with Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia – to be part of Russia last week, vowing to keep them ‘forever’

Russia’s invasion has largely stalled and has now gone into reverse as Ukraine recaptures swathes of territory in both the north and south

‘We need anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems to secure our civilians and critical infrastructure from the terrorist attacks on the Russian forces.’

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday the military has recruited more than 200,000 reservists as part of a partial mobilization launched two weeks ago. 

He said that the recruits were undergoing training at 80 firing ranges before being deployed to the front lines in Ukraine.

Putin’s mobilization order said that up to 300,000 reservists were to be called, but held the door open for a bigger call-up. 

It sparked protests in many areas across Russia and drove tens of thousands of men to flee Russia in a challenge to the Kremlin.

The Ukrainian successes in the east and the south came even as Russia moved to absorb four Ukrainian regions amid the fighting there.

The upper house of Russian parliament, the Federation Council, voted Tuesday to ratify treaties to make the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk and the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions part of Russia. The lower house did it on Monday.

Putin is expected to quickly endorse the annexation treaties.

Russia’s moves to incorporate the Ukrainian regions have been done so hastily that even the exact borders of the territories being absorbed were unclear.

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