The Pentagon will send additional $800 million in defense aid to Ukraine that will effectively create five new Ukrainian artillery battalions, and includes more than 120 new drones built specifically for use by Ukraine s forces. Officials made the announcement in a statement sent to reporters Thursday morning.
Two senior defense officials told reporters the efforts of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany to move as many weapons from American stockpiles to the border of Ukraine.
Representatives from 14 nations, including Ukraine, have posted liaison officers to a task force in Stuttgart that receives requests from the government in Kyiv and arranges for weapons and supplies from different countries to be delivered, according to one of the officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about the effort to arm Ukraine against Russia.
The existence of the task force, called the European Command Control Center Ukraine, was not previously disclosed.