US to send Ukraine air defense munitions, armored vehicles in latest aid

PHOTO CAPTION: A Ukrainian serviceman from an anti-drone mobile air defense unit uses his phone near a ZU-23-2 anti aircraft cannon as he waits for Russian kamikaze drones, in Kherson region, Ukraine, June 11. REUTERS/Ivan Antypenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday about efforts to surge security assistance to Ukraine and announced a new $425 million military aid package, the White House said.

The security package includes air defense capability, air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles and critical munitions, the White House said in a statement.

Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, expressed gratitude to Biden, both parties of Congress and the American people for the new package and said he spoke to Biden about Kyiv's five-point "victory plan," which he presented to parliament on Wednesday.

"I proposed considering the possibility of joint weapons production," he said. "We also discussed the importance of additional training for Ukrainian soldiers."

Ukraine, he said, thanked the United States "for its readiness to help Ukraine strengthen its positions to compel Russia towards honest diplomacy."

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Ron Popeski and Leslie Adler)