From left: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
The latest U.S. security assistance to Ukraine includes missiles for fighter jets, support equipment for F-16s, armored bridging systems, small arms and ammunition and other spare parts and communications equipment.
The weapons package is funded by the presidential drawdown authority (PDA), meaning the weapons will come from U.S. stockpiles, expediting their delivery to Ukraine.
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The ruins of the city of Toretsk are in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, on December 19, 2024. (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"We’ve come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defense coalitions we’ve created," Zelenskyy said. "No matter what’s going on in the world, everyone wants to feel sure that their country will not just be erased of the map."
Member nations of the coalition supporting Kyiv, including the U.S., have ramped up weapons production since the Ukraine war exposed that stockpiles were inadequate for a major conventional land war.
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The U.S. has provided about $66 billion of the total aid since February 2022 and has been able to deliver most of that total — between 80% and 90% — already to Ukraine.
"Retreat will only provide incentives for more imperial aggression," Austin said Thursday. "And if we flinch, you can count on Putin to push further and punch harder. Ukraine’s survival is on the line. But so is the security of Europe, the United States, and the world."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chris Pandolfo is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
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