The U.S. has authorized the 39th drawdown of military equipment to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia's unprovoked war.
U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken announced May 31 that he had authorized the drawdown "[p]ursuant to a delegation of authority from President (Joe) Biden" of "$300 million worth of U.S. arms and equipment."
"Russia is continuing to wage a brutal and unprovoked war against Ukraine," Blinken stated in the press release. "In the month of May alone, Russia launched 17 air assaults against Kyiv, threatening Ukrainian families and devastating civilian areas. In response, the United States will continue to work with Ukraine to strengthen its air defenses and help Ukraine protect its people from Russia’s aggression."
In its May 31 announcement of the drawdown, the Department of Defense (DOD) stated the drawdown "includes key capabilities to support Ukraine's air defenders as they bravely protect Ukraine's soldiers, civilians, and critical infrastructure amid Russia's continuing air strikes killing civilians across Ukraine."
The DOD reports that the security-assistance package includes "artillery, anti-armor capabilities, and ammunition, including tens of millions of rounds of small arms ammunition, valued at up to $300 million to help Ukraine continue to defend its sovereign territory."
As of May 31, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $38.3 billion in security assistance since the beginning of the Biden administration, according to a DOD fact sheet, including more than $37.6 billion since Russia's illegal invasion in February 2022.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby spoke on the drawdown at a recent press briefing with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
"Russia has continued to wage just a brutal, completely unprovoked war against Ukraine, launching yet more airstrikes and bombarding ... cities all across the country," Kirby said at the May 31 briefing. "In response, the United States is going to continue to support Ukraine, help give them things they need to better defend themselves."
Kirby said the U.S. will use the defense package to provide Ukraine with more munitions for the Patriot air defense systems "which Ukraine has been deploying quite effectively," and also Avenger air defense systems, Stinger anti-aircraft systems and ammunition for various weapons.
Kirby also answered a question about the status of the investigation into the Chinese spy balloon shot down by the U.S. earlier this year, saying that there is not an "investigation going on," but rather a "forensic analysis" was conducted on the recovered balloon material.
He said that the analysis was conducted by the FBI at its location in Quantico, Va., but he did not know the status of the analysis. Regardless of the analysis, Kirby said he didn't think that "we’re going to lay all that out for the public."
The balloon was a piece of espionage equipment, he said, that the U.S. wants to better understand for national security purposes, which is a reason the U.S. first tracked the balloon's flight before shooting it down.
"We exploited it when it was in the air," Kirby said, "and we exploited the material that we recovered."
