US announces additional military aid of $1.8 billion to Ukraine

The White House announcement came just hours before Zelenskyy was expected to arrive.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will provide $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, rolling out funding for a Patriot missile battery as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Washington for a first trip out of his country since Russia invaded in February.

The package includes $1 billion in weapons and equipment from Pentagon stocks, including the Patriot battery, and $850 million in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. (AP)

The White House announcement came just hours before Zelenskyy was expected to arrive.

The package includes $1 billion in weapons and equipment from Pentagon stocks, including the Patriot battery, and $850 million in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Part of the USAI will be used to fund a satellite communications system, which likely will include the crucial SpaceX Starlink satellite network system owned by Elon Musk.