The Biden administration is promising $60 million in military aid to Ukraine ahead of President Joe Biden's meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday in an effort to combat Russian aggression.
The package includes Javelin anti-armor missile systems, first-aid kits, and small arms and ammunition.
Details emerged a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due at the White House in a show of support for Kyiv's sovereignty.
In a notification to Congress, the administration said the aid was needed because of a 'major increase in Russian military activity along its border,' mortar attacks, cease-fire violations and other provocations.
'Russia's buildup along the Ukrainian border has highlighted capability shortfalls in the Ukrainian military's ability to defend against a Russian incursion,' it said.
'Ukraine's significant capability gaps must be urgently addressed to reinforce deterrence in light of the current Russian threat.'
President Biden will welcome his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on Wednesday as they discuss a united front against Russian aggression
This handout photo released on Thursday, April 22, 2021 by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service shows, Russian military vehicles move during drills in Crimea. A surge in Russian activity along the Ukrainian border is the reason for the injection of aid
Russia staged huge military drills with 10,000 troops and 40 warships in Crimea amid soaring tensions with Ukraine in April
The aid is designed to help Ukraine counter a build up of Russian power on its border
Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 after the ouster of the former Kremlin-friendly president and has thrown its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
While demonstrating support for Ukraine, the White House has also said that Biden intends to encourage Zelensky's efforts to tackle corruption in the country.
For his part, Zelensky is expected to raise with Biden Washington's decision not to try to block the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany that bypasses Ukraine.
Ukraine fears the pipeline will be used as a powerful geopolitical weapon by Russia.
Military aid to Ukraine was a politically fraught matter for the Trump administration.
Before his White House meeting, Zelensky announced a new defense agreement with the U.S. signed during a visit to the Pentagon
In 2019, Trump was accused of withholding aid and a White House visit as he sought a quid pro quo in the form of political dirt on Biden, who was then emerging as his likely election challenger.
Trump was impeached and acquitted by a partisan vote in the Senate, where only one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, voted to convict.
The latest round of aid is meant to demonstrate that the U.S. is committed to Ukraine's security when the former Soviet republic has sought stronger Western backing during Russia's troop buildup and escalating tensions. The new package will include more Javelin anti-tank missiles, which Kyiv sees as critical to defending against the Russia-backed separatists who have rolled through eastern Ukraine.
The Pentagon in March announced a $125 million military aid package for Ukraine, including two armed patrol boats to help the country defend its territorial waters.
The U.S. says it has committed more than $2.5 billion in aid to Ukraine since its conflict with Russia began.
