US will give another $3bn of arms to Ukraine to mark its independence day, reports say

The Biden administration is set to announce it will give Ukraine an additional $3bn worth of arms on the country’s independence day.

The new security package will be the single biggest one provided to Kyiv as the war with Russia also marks its sixth month, a US official said on Tuesday.

It is planned for it to be announced on Wednesday, to coincide with the date that Ukraine’s parliament vowed to separate from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Ukraine’s military is marking the date by lining a parade route with the burned-out remains of Russian tanks and military equipment.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the new weaponry did not include systems that had not already been provided to Ukraine’s armed forces.

Instead, the package, which could take months to get to Europe, would supply ammunition and defence systems, according to Reuters.

The official told the news service that the type of weapons and the number provided could change before a formal announcement.

Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked attack on Ukraine on 24 February and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that “Russia may try to do something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel” to mark the 31st anniversary of independence.

The US has so provided $10.6bn in military help for Ukraine since the Russian invasion, which has since become bogged down and failed to take the country’s capital amid heavy resistance.

On Monday the US Embassy in Ukraine and the State Department issued a security alert for Ukraine that repeated a call for Americans in the country to leave due to the danger.

“Given Russia’s track record in Ukraine, we are concerned about the continued threat that Russian strikes pose to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” it said.