DOD announces new $125M Ukraine aid package

The Defense Department today announced a new $125 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes patrol boats and counter-artillery radars.

"This action reaffirms the U.S. commitment to providing defensive lethal weapons to enable Ukraine to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression," Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said during a briefing with reporters.

The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package includes two additional armed Mark VI patrol boats "to enhance Ukraine's capacity to patrol and defend its territorial waters," according to a Pentagon statement. To date, the United States has given Ukraine eight Mark VI patrol boats.

The package also includes "capabilities to enhance the lethality, command and control, and situational awareness of Ukraine's forces through the provision of additional counter-artillery radars and tactical equipment; continued support for a satellite imagery and analysis capability; and equipment to support military medical treatment and combat evacuation procedures," the statement says. 

Another $150 million in fiscal year 2021 USAI funds appropriated by Congress will be provided when DOD, in coordination with the State Department, "certifies that Ukraine has made sufficient progress on key defense reforms this year, as required by the National Defense Authorization Act."

The U.S. government has allotted more than $2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014, according to DOD.