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The weapons aid package is expected be unveiled on Monday, the
officials said, declining to be named because the package was
not public.
The administration is responding to Ukraine's desperate requests
for air defense support as Russia has pounded Ukrainian energy
facilities in recent weeks via aerial attacks.
The U.S. began shipping HAWK interceptor missiles to Ukraine in
2022 as an upgrade to the shoulder-launched Stinger air defense
missile systems - a smaller, shorter-range system.
The MIM-23 HAWK - an acronym for "Homing All the Way Killer" -
was introduced in the 1950s and upgraded over the years to deal
with jamming and other countermeasures. It was eventually
exported to more than a dozen countries, according the U.S. Army
Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command.
In addition to the HAWK interceptors and 155 millimeter
artillery munitions, the package will include other munitions
and equipment to support Ukraine's defense needs, the sources
added.
The package will come from Presidential Drawdown Authority, a
mechanism that allows the president to quickly transfer defense
articles and services from U.S. stocks to support allies.
The U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion dollars
in military aid since 2022.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington, Editing by Alexandra
Alper and Cynthia Osterman)
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