The Biden administration announced a new military aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday, the last it can provide under current drawdown authority unless Congress enacts new funding.

Worth up to $250 million, the package includes air defense missiles, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons and other equipment to help Ukraine nearly two years after Russia first invaded the country, according to the Pentagon.

What You Need To Know

  • The Biden administration announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth up to $250 million

  • The Department of Defense package includes air-defense missiles, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons and other equipment

  • The package is authorized through Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to withdraw weapons, ammunition and other supplies from existing U.S. stockpiles to provide foreign assistance in times of crisis

  • The military aid package is the last Ukraine will receive from the U.S. unless Congress authorizes additional spending

“These capabilities will support Ukraine’s most pressing needs to enable its forces to defend their sovereignty and independence,” the Department of Defense said in a statement. “U.S. leadership is essential to sustaining the coalition efforts of some 50 allies and partners currently supporting Ukraine.”

The package is authorized through Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to withdraw weapons, ammunition and other supplies from existing U.S. stockpiles to provide foreign assistance in times of crisis.

The package is the 54th issuance of equipment the Biden Administration has provided to Ukraine from Department of Defense inventories since August 2021. It is also the last aid package Ukraine will receive from the U.S. unless Congress authorizes additional spending.

"Our assistance has been critical to supporting our Ukrainian partners as they defend their country and their freedom against Russia’s aggression," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, later adding: "It is imperative that Congress act swiftly, as soon as possible, to advance our national security interests by helping Ukraine defend itself and secure its future."

In October, President Biden asked Congress for $106 billion in national security supplemental spending to provide military aid for Ukraine; humanitarian aid for Israel, Ukraine and Gaza; and billions to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans in the U.S. Senate have tied their approval of the funding to stricter asylum rules and security changes at the U.S. border with Mexico. On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is reportedly negotiating a potential border security deal to address the recent migrant surge.

Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it had removed or returned over 400,000 individuals who had entered the country illegally between May and the end of November. The seven-month tally is “nearly the number removed and returned in all of fiscal year 2019” and double the pre-pandemic average.

Secretary of State Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were in Mexico City Wednesday to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to address this year’s migrant surge at the border, including a caravan of about 7,000 people from Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela and Haiti who are currently heading to the border.