US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine.
The package includes “heavy artillery, dozens of howitzers, 144,000 ammunition and drones,” the White House said.
“We are now at a critical time where they will prepare the ground for the next phase of this war,” Biden said of Russia.
The US government and its allies are acting “as quickly as possible” to continue to supply Ukraine with “the weapons that its armed forces need,” he added.
Joe Biden also called the claim that Russia controls the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, as claimed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, “questionable.”
“There is still no evidence that Mariupol fell completely,” he stressed.
“Russia will never be able to occupy Ukraine,” said the US President.
To continue offering military aid to Ukraine, Biden said he would request additional resources from the US Congress.
Washington also plans to provide an additional $500 million in economic aid to help Ukraine keep the government running, a Treasury Department source said.
Biden also announced new economic sanctions and said ships linked to Russia would be banned from US ports.