DOD announces $150M in military aid to Ukraine

The Defense Department announced today a new $150 million military aid package for Ukraine.

The package includes "training, equipment, and advisory efforts to help Ukraine's forces preserve the country's territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO," according to DOD.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters today the equipment in the package includes systems to counter unmanned aerial systems, secure communications technology and two counter-artillery radar systems.

The new package complements $125 million in military aid DOD announced for Ukraine in March that "included armed Mark VI patrol boats, counter-artillery radars, tactical equipment, support for a satellite imagery and analysis capability, and equipment to support military medical treatment and combat evacuation procedures," according to DOD.

Meanwhile, DOD "encourages Ukraine to continue to enact reforms" that, among other things, would "better align Ukraine's defense enterprise with the core NATO principle of democratic civilian control of the military."

The United States, DOD said, has committed more than $2.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014.