The Biden administration will announce a new roughly $800 million military assistance package for Ukraine on Friday as Russia's unprovoked invasion of the country nears the six-month mark, according to multiple media outlets.
Why it matters: The package will include at least a dozen surveillance drones, 16 howitzer heavy field artillery pieces and ammunition, 1,000 Javelin missiles and 40 mine-resistant troop transport vehicles, ABC News reports.
By the numbers: It comes after the U.S. announced a $550 million military aid package for Ukraine earlier this month.
- With the new package, the Biden administration will have committed a total of $10.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
- It is the Department of Defense's 19th drawdown military aid package to Ukraine since August 2021.
The big picture: While Russia has made incremental territorial gains in Ukraine's Donbas region over the past months, it currently appears to be on the defensive in Kharkiv and Kherson 0blasts.
- Russia has suffered material losses in Crimea after multiple military installations were recently hit with explosions, including Saki Air Base in southwest Crimea.
- The explosions, which Ukraine has not officially claimed or denied responsibility for, carry major symbolic and strategic ramifications for Russia's hold on the peninsula, Axios' Dave Lawler reports.
- Russia also faces increased pressure from dozens of countries, the United Nations and other international organizations to remove its troops and military equipment from Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Go deeper: The latest on Russia's invasion of Ukraine
