US to announce further security package of up to $3 billion on Ukraine’s Independence Day marking six months since Russia’s invasion

The U.S. is set to announce a security assistance package of up to $3 billion for Ukraine on Wednesday August 24, which is the country’s Independence Day and marks six months since the beginning of the war. 

This package, is far larger than any single previous US package since the start of the war. 

The package falls under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and will include Western air defense capabilities, a large quantity of ammunition, as well as training and maintenance, the official said to the Associated Press.

Last week, the US announced a $775 million package that included HIMARS and 105mm Howitzer ammo, anti-armor missiles, mine-clearing capabilities, and more. That package came through Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which means it will be pulled directly from US stocks.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a US official told the AP that the new weapons did not appear to include types of arms that had not been provided previously to the Ukrainian military. 

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what Russian President Vladimir Putin termed a “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine, the US has provided $10.6 billion in military assistance to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government.

Moscow is trying to gain control of the largely Russian-speaking Donbas region, comprised of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, where pro-Moscow separatists seized territory after the Kremlin annexed Crimea to the south in 2014.

Also, the U.S Embassy has told its citizens to leave Ukraine because of fears of possible Russian missile strikes as the country celebrates its 31 years of independence on Wednesday.

Kyiv has warned Moscow of a powerful response if it launches such strikes.