Biden announces $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday to help Kyiv repel Russian invaders, using a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a major commitment.

The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, with a range of up to 81 miles (130 km). The medium-range missile gives Ukraine a major upgrade to the weapons it is using to strike Russian forces, allowing the Ukrainians to do it at safer distances.

The bomb, capable of striking targets with high accuracy, is to be dropped from fighter jets. Biden will not announce that Washington would let Ukraine use U.S. missiles to hit targets deeper in Russia, a U.S. official said.

Supporting Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022, has been a U.S. priority, Biden said in a statement.

"That is why, today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war," said Biden, who leaves office in January.

The bulk of the new aid, $5.5 billion, is to be allocated before Monday's end of the U.S. fiscal year, when the funding authority is set to expire. Another $2.4 billion is under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the administration to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies rather than pull them from U.S. stocks.

This will provide Ukraine with additional air defense, unmanned aerial systems and air-to-ground munitions, as well as strengthen Ukraine's defense industrial base and support its maintenance and sustainment requirements, Biden said.

Under his plan, the president said, the Defense Department will refurbish and provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense