WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States announced on Tuesday a new $325 million military aid package for Ukraine that will include munitions for air defense systems, ammunition, and vehicles, the Pentagon said.
The aid is being rushed to Ukraine using Presidential Drawdown Authority, which authorizes the president to transfer articles and services from U.S. stocks without congressional approval during an emergency.
This news comes after an announcement that a top Russian officer has been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike during Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russian forces, a Russian-backed official in Ukraine said on Tuesday, offering his condolences.
Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in part of the southern Zaporizhzhia region which is under Moscow’s control, said Major-General Sergei Goryachev, Chief of Staff of Russia’s 35th Army, had been killed on the Zaporizhzhia front on Monday where Ukrainian forces have been retaking some territory.
There was no immediate confirmation of the news from the Defence Ministry, which was first reported by “Voenkor Z,” a Russian war correspondent and blogger.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington & Andrew Osborn; Editing by William Maclean)
