US Defense Chief confirms $6 billion arms commitment for Ukraine

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Friday a $6 billion commitment for long-term contracts to provide Ukraine with weapons such as Patriot missiles, artillery ammunition and drones.

Austin laid out a broad commitment but not signed contracts, which would be likely to take months to complete under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative for systems that would then be delivered over time. He spoke at the Pentagon after a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contract Group, which provides military support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.

The defense chief highlighted some of the systems that would eventually be sent to Ukraine under the initiative: Patriot missile interceptors made by RTX Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. as well as munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air-Missile Systems, artillery ammunition, ground-to-air munitions and Switchblade and Puma attack drones. Austin acknowledged Ukraine’s need for more Patriot batteries, not only the interceptors they fire, saying he’s been working with European counterparts in an effort to find countries willing to give up the prized batteries.

The $6 billion in contracts is separate from Presidential Drawdown Authority packages that pull equipment from U.S. inventories for fast deployments and later replenishment.

“We are going to move as fast as we can — as fast as the industry can produce,” Austin told reporters.

After signing sweeping $95 billion national security legislation on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said assistance to Ukraine would begin to move within “hours.” He said the military aid would include “air defense munitions, artillery for rocket systems, and armored vehicles.” The assistance had been held up in the U.S. House for months while Russia gained the initiative in the conflict, now in its third year.

The U.S. said the initial tranche of aid is valued at $1 billion and would include air defense interceptors, artillery rounds, armored vehicles, and anti-tank weapons — the first transfer from $61 billion in new funding.