President Biden on Wednesday said the United States will deliver another $1 billion worth of military equipment to Ukraine, including weapons to defend the country’s coast, additional artillery, and more ammunition for the rocket systems to defend against Russian aggression in the eastern part of the country.
Mr. Biden said in a statement that he informed President Volodymyr Zelensky of the new weapons during a 40-minute call Wednesday morning.
“The bravery, resilience, and determination of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire the world,” Mr. Biden said in the statement. “And the United States, together with our allies and partners, will not waver in our commitment to the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom.”
The White House also announced that Mr. Biden approved an additional $225 million to provide Ukrainians with drinking water, medical supplies, food, shelter and other humanitarian assistance.
The announcements came after Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III urged other Western allies to redouble their military aid to Ukraine, warning that it “is facing a pivotal moment on the battlefield” in the nearly four-month war with Russia.
Better Understand the Russia-Ukraine War
“We can’t afford to let up, and we can’t lose steam,” Mr. Austin told a meeting in Brussels of nearly 50 countries known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. He praised the flow of tanks, missiles and artillery provided to Ukraine so far, but said it was not enough, adding, “The stakes are too high.”
Ukraine is struggling to hold off a Russian onslaught in the east, with Moscow’s forces on the verge of capturing the strategic city of Sievierodonetsk. Kyiv has voiced frustration that many of the heavy weapons promised by its Western allies have not arrived, as Russia uses its superior artillery to seize control of more of the eastern Donbas region.
The comments came as administration officials say they are increasingly looking at options for how to handle a sustained conflict — and whether a cease-fire, or a formal armistice similar to the one reached in Korea 70 years ago, would help or hurt the Ukrainian cause.
Their analysis, officials say, has been fairly pessimistic. They fear that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia might use a cessation of hostilities to rebuild his military, and perhaps seek another opportunity to take all of Ukraine, his objective when the war began on Feb. 24.
For now, officials say, they are preparing for long-term support of the Ukrainian government, and more supply of weapons. But officials are clearly concerned that both American public interest in the conflict and European unity may wane. They are looking for ways to reinvigorate that interest, including inviting Mr. Zelensky to attend the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June.
“Russia is using its long-range fires to try to overwhelm Ukrainian positions,” added Mr. Austin, a retired four-star Army general. “So we must intensify our shared commitment to Ukraine self-defense, and we must push ourselves even harder to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself.”
The heavy weaponry the United States has so far supplied Ukraine includes 108 howitzers and four HIMARS truck-mounted multiple-launch rocket systems, with missiles that have a range of up to 40 miles, greater than anything Ukraine currently possesses. The first Ukrainian team is scheduled to complete its training on the HIMARS system on Wednesday, and it will be deployed in the battlefield next week, a Biden administration official said. More of the systems are expected to be dispatched to Ukraine, U.S. officials said this week.
