Joe Biden
Joe BidenJabin Botsford/Pool via REUTERS

US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a new package of $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, saying it would help Kyiv in the fight against Russian forces in the Donbas region, AFP reports.

The Pentagon said the newest round of US support will include 72 155mm howitzers, 72 armored vehicles to tow them, 144,000 rounds of ammunition, and more than 120 "Phoenix Ghost" tactical drones recently developed by the US Air Force specifically to address Ukraine's needs.

Biden said the new package was tailored to help Ukraine's forces address the growing Russian offensive in the country's east, which he said would be a different kind of fight than that in the north around Kyiv, where Ukrainian forces successfully beat the Russian invasion back in the first six weeks of the war.

"We're in a critical window now of time where that they're going to set the stage for the next phase of this war. And the United States and our allies and partners are moving as fast as possible to continue to provide Ukraine ... the weapons their forces need to defend their nation," he said, according to AFP.

Biden also announced that Russia-affiliated ships would be banned from US ports, and that the US Treasury was putting up a fresh $500 million for Ukraine's government so it can pay salaries and pensions and provide services.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has pushed strongly for more and heavier weaponry, said in a tweet that he was grateful for Biden's announcement.

"This help is needed today more than ever! It saves the lives of our defenders of democracy and freedom and brings us closer to restoring peace" in Ukraine, wrote Zelenskyy.

The new package follows $800 million in military assistance announced by the White House last week, taking to $4 billion the amount the US has put up in arms and supplies for Ukraine's forces since the start of the Biden administration in January 2021.

Biden also responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim earlier on Thursday that Russia had “liberated” the port city of Mariupol.

"It's questionable whether he does control Mariupol," Biden said. "He should allow humanitarian corridors to let people... get out."

"There is no evidence yet that Mariupol has completely fallen," he added.

The latest US aid to Ukraine comes several days after Zelenskyy said that Russian forces had begun a new offensive in eastern Ukraine.

“We can now say that Russian forces have started the battle of the Donbas, for which they have long prepared,” he said in a video address.

“No matter how many soldiers are drawn there, we will defend ourselves. We will fight. We will not give up anything Ukrainian,” he stated.

(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of the Seventh Day of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)