Austin to Announce Up to $6 Billion Arms Commitment to Ukraine

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to announce on Friday the commitment of as much as $6 billion to bankroll long-term contracts to provide Ukraine with weapons such as Patriot missiles and drones, according to several US officials familiar with the issue.

Austin’s announcement, planned for the start of a press conference, will lay out a broad commitment but not signed contracts, which would likely take months to finalize under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI, for systems that would be delivered over years.