U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a new $400 million arms package for Ukraine during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Oct. 21.
The package includes 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells, ammunition for U.S.-donated M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, and additional Javelin anti-tank missile launcher systems.
The surprise visit is Austin’s fourth time traveling to Ukraine as the secretary of defense. He visited Belgium last week and met with members of other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations to discuss continuing support for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
Russian forces continue to make slow territorial gains across eastern Ukraine, and as Ukraine braces for another winter at war, Russian forces have intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of the winter months in an apparent effort to cripple the Ukrainian public’s will to fight.
“The United States understands the stakes here, Mr. President,” Austin told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting on Oct. 21 as he announced the new military package.
Austin’s appearance in Kyiv also comes just two weeks before Election Day in the United States, with uncertainty about continued U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort. The United States has already appropriated about $174 billion to Ukraine since 2022, making it Ukraine’s largest financial backer throughout the war.
Vice President Kamala Harris has signaled continuity with President Joe Biden’s policies if she wins the presidency in November. Former President Donald Trump, by contrast, has signaled skepticism of continued U.S. aid for Ukraine and a preference to speed along negotiations to end the war if he wins back the White House.
Austin signaled optimism for continued U.S. support for Ukraine during his Oct. 21 visit.
“I’ve seen bipartisan support for Ukraine over the last two and a half years, and I fully expect that we'll continue to see the bipartisan support from Congress,” he said.
Zelenskyy recently began circulating what he has called a “victory plan” to compel Russia to negotiate on friendlier terms for Ukraine.
The plan entails continued Western support for Ukraine, including increased deliveries of long-range weapons and permission to use them to strike deep inside Russian territory. Thus far, Biden has been reluctant to permit expansive Ukrainian strikes within Russia.
“We have been supporting him by providing security assistance in a major way for over two and a half years. We’re going to continue to do that.”
The grinding war has stretched Ukrainian forces thin. A Ukrainian cross-border assault into Russia’s Kursk region in August appeared aimed at forcing Russian forces to divert resources away from eastern Ukraine.
