The Biden administration is preparing an additional US$800 million in security aid for Ukraine

According to three sources with knowledge of the situation who spoke on Thursday, the administration of President Joe Biden is preparing to provide approximately US$800 million in additional military aid to Ukraine and could make the announcement as soon as this coming Friday (August 19).

According to the people who spoke with Reuters, President Biden would authorize the help by exercising his Presidential Drawdown Authority, which grants the president the ability to authorize the transfer of excess weapons from US stores.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, indicated that an announcement could be delayed until next week. However, they did warn that the value of the weapon bundles could vary before they were released.

The White House did not provide a statement, though.

Since Russian troops began crossing into Ukrainian territory in February as part of what Russian President Vladimir Putin has referred to as a “special military operation,” the conflict has devolved into a battle of attrition that is fought mostly in the east and south of Ukraine.

The administration of Kyiv has received billions of dollars’ worth of security aid from the United States government in Washington.