Ukraine war latest: US announces new military aid package worth almost $8 billion for Ukraine

Key developments on Sept. 26:
U.S. President Joe Biden announced a military aid package for Ukraine worth $7.9 billion on Sept. 26.
“I am grateful to U.S. President Joseph Biden, the U.S. Congress and both parties, Republican and Democrat, and the entire American people for today’s announcement of significant defense aid to Ukraine totaling $7.9 billion and the imposition of sanctions against Russia,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media.
Washington authorized a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $375 million the day before, on Sept. 25, amid Zelensky’s ongoing visit to the U.S.
Biden said that the Pentagon will allocate the remaining Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds by the end of 2024.
He authorized $5.5 billion in the presidential drawdown authority (PDA) “to ensure this authority does not expire.” Another $2.4 billion are pledged through the USAI.
The new tranche will include an additional Patriot air defense battery, unmanned aerial systems, and air-to-ground munitions, as well as funds to strengthen Ukraine’s defense industrial base and support its maintenance and sustainment requirements.
Washington will also provide Kyiv with the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) munition “to enhance Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities,” Biden said.
The U.S. president also announced the expansion of training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots by supporting the training of an additional 18 next year.
“Through these actions, my message is clear: The United States will provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win this war,” Biden said.
The German parliament’s lower chamber, the Bundestag, has approved the German government’s proposal to increase funding for military support for Ukraine by nearly 400 million euros ($447 million), according to the Sept. 25 statement.
The Bundestag announced the decision to increase financial aid following a meeting under the Ukraine Compact, a security framework signed by 32 allied countries at the NATO summit in July 2024.
The meeting was held on Sept. 25 on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
The additional financial assistance will allow the procurement of more air defense systems, tanks, drones, ammunition, and spare parts, “effectively strengthening the Ukrainian Armed Forces in defending their country,” the statement read.
Berlin also announced it will provide an additional 170 million euros ($190 million) “soon” to help restore Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which comes under frequent Russian attacks.
Initially a hesitant partner, Germany has become Ukraine’s second-largest military donor after the U.S. since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Berlin will provide Kyiv with around 8 billion euros ($8.8 billion) this year, but the aid will be reportedly cut by half — to 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) — in 2025.
Berlin had been hoping that the shortfall in assistance would be made up by Ukraine receiving $50 billion in profits from frozen Russian assets. However, Hungary has caused delays in the U.S.’s procedural involvement in the assets scheme.  In addition to budgetary concerns, German “anti-war” parties that oppose aid to Ukraine on the right and left made gains in regional elections on Sept. 1, causing political complications for Germany’s commitment to support Ukraine.According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), as of June 2024, Germany has allocated 14.7 billion euros ($16.4 billion) in support for Ukraine since 2022.
Ukraine’s 72nd Mechanized Brigade on Sept. 26 refuted reports that it was retreating from the embattled town of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast.
The brigade released a video purportedly from Vuhledar saying it had been filmed there earlier in the day.
“We want to dispel all doubts and the pseudo-experts’ thoughts that the 72nd Brigade withdrew from Vuhledar,” a Ukrainian soldier said. “Despite heavy assaults and difficult circumstances, we are still there.”
The statement came after a media report suggested Ukrainian soldiers had begun to withdraw from the town, adding Vuhledar was “about to fall.”
The 72nd Mechanized Brigade has defended Vuhledar for nearly two years, as Russian forces have been trying to capture the town since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The front-line town lies about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of occupied Donetsk and roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the administrative border with Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Vuhledar has withstood numerous attacks since the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022 and has become key to Ukrainian defenses in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast.
The crowd-sourced monitoring website DeepState reported that Russian forces are aiming to encircle Vuhledar.
Russian troops had not reached the outskirts of town as of Sept. 25, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin.
“Sabotage and reconnaissance groups are coming in, but our defenders are trying to knock them out. This means that the town is not yet captured,” he added.
An overnight Russian drone and missile strike targeted three Ukrainian energy transmission facilities, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sept. 26.
“But the Russian terrorists did not achieve their goals — Ukraine’s energy system is operating in a balanced mode, no power cuts are planned,” he added in a post on Telegram.
Shmyhal said one of the facilities targeted was in Mykolaiv Oblast in southern Ukraine, but did not specify the location of the other two.
Ukrainian forces downed 66 out of 78 Shahed-type drones and four Kh-59/69 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight from, the Air Force reported.
Eight more drones were “lost” in a few regions and another one “went back to Russia,” it added.
On the morning of Sept. 26, Russian forces also launched three Kinzhal ballistic missiles.
Russia launched nine coordinated attacks against Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure between March and August, striking facilities in 20 oblasts, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 25 during his speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
“This is how Putin is preparing for winter — hoping to torment millions, millions of Ukrainians… Ordinary families — women, children… Ordinary towns, ordinary villages,” Zelensky said.
According to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report, Ukraine’s electricity shortage could reach 6 gigawatts this winter as a result of the attacks, which is about one-third of the expected peak demand.
This summer, the power shortage was 2.5 GW when Kyiv was already experiencing long blackouts.
Zelensky told the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 24 that Russia was preparing to target three Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
There are three operating nuclear power plants on the Ukrainian-held territory — the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi plants in the country’s west, and the Pivdennoukrainsk plant in the south. Russia’s regular attacks put their safety in jeopardy by cutting off power to the units.
According to the Energy Ministry, nuclear generation currently accounts for up to 60% of the country’s electricity consumption.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
Ukraine has 55,000 citizens in its unified register for persons missing under special circumstances, Deputy Interior Minister Leonid Tymchenko told Ukrinform in an interview published on Sept. 26.
The register includes people who have disappeared due to war, occupation, or natural and man-made disasters.
The figure underscores the humanitarian impact of Russia’s full-scale war, which has brought illegal deportations, kidnappings, and a large number of deaths among both the military and civilians in Ukraine.
“The register contains information about 55,000 people. Most of them are military personnel. This figure is quite dynamic: when the whereabouts of missing persons are established, in some cases, it turns out that a citizen, for example, is in captivity,” Tymchenko said.
“Unfortunately, we also identify the dead among those who were considered missing,” he added.
The latest figure shows a considerable growth since July, when the Interior Ministry revealed that 42,000 Ukrainians were considered missing.
This number does not include Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia, Belarus, or occupied territories, whose numbers exceed 19,500.