US approves $675 million in additional weapons for Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden approved an additional $675 million weapons package for Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday (September 8), as ministers met to discuss how to give Kyiv long-term support in countering Russia's invasion.

Austin, who was speaking at the start of a meeting of dozens of defense ministers at Ramstein air base in Germany, said the gathering would discuss how countries can work together to train Ukrainian forces and improve their own defense industrial bases for the long-haul.

"This contact group needs to position itself to sustain Ukraine's brave defenders for the long haul," Austin said, "that means a continued and determined flow of capability now."

Washington has already provided more than $10 billion in military assistance to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24.

The latest U.S. package will include more ammunitions, humvees and anti-tank systems.

The six-month-old conflict has killed thousands and reduced Ukrainian cities to rubble. In recent weeks fears have grown over a potential disaster at Zaporizhzhia, Europe's biggest nuclear power plant.

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