White House approves $200 million in weapons for Ukraine's defense against Russia

The White House announced on Saturday that President Joe Biden had authorized $200 million worth of defense aid for Ukraine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the spending package would include further defensive assistance to help Ukraine meet the armored, airborne, and other threats it is facing.

Since the beginning of the Administration, the United States has provided more than $1 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.

According to The New York Times, the arms package includes Javelin antitank missiles and Stinger antiaircraft missiles, and will be shipped into western Ukraine from existing US military stockpiles elsewhere in Europe.

Pentagon officials told The Times that Russia has not yet attacked such shipments because it is too focused on other matters.

On Saturday, Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, warned the US thatpumping weapons from a number of countries orchestrated by them is not just a dangerous move, but these are actions that turn the corresponding convoys into legitimate targets.

The US is one of several nations that have supplied weapons to Ukraine. In February, the US gave a similar arms and equipment package to Ukraine.

The US Senate approved a $1.5 trillion government funding bill this week that included $13.6 billion in emergency humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants NATO and the US to take stronger measures to assist his country. The US has rejected both pleas, noting that flying fighter jets into contested airspace would raise serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance, and that a no-fly zone would effectively commit the US to shooting down any Russian aircraft entering Ukrainian airspace.