The U.S. announces an additional $450 million in military aid for Ukraine.

The White House authorized on Thursday an additional $450 million in military aid for Ukraine, which is set to receive four more rocket artillery launchers that the government in Kyiv has said are needed to repulse Russian troops in Donbas.

The National Security Council spokesman, John F. Kirby, announced the new “drawdown” of goods from the Pentagon’s stockpiles Thursday afternoon.

The latest announcement brings the total amount of military aid from the United States to Ukraine to $6.8 billion since the beginning of the Biden administration — the vast majority of which has been committed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to a Pentagon statement emailed to reporters.

The truck-mounted launchers, called the M142 HIMARS — for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System — carry six guided rockets in a disposable “pod” that can be quickly discarded after the munitions are launched. Read more

@nytimes