News - Middle East: The Pentagon has announced the near delivery of an over $2.3-billion weapons package for Ukraine.

"I am proud that the United States will soon announce more than $2.3 billion in new security assistance for Ukraine," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a meeting with Rustem Umerov, his visiting Ukrainian counterpart, at the Pentagon headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, on Tuesday.

"This package, under presidential drawdown authority, will provide more air defense interceptors, anti-tank weapons and other critical munitions from the US inventories," Austin said.

In the meeting, Austin also gave his approval to Umerov to agree with Kiev's request to join NATO.

At next week's NATO summit in the United States, Austin said, "We will take steps to build a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine."

Kiev had said previously it expected to make progress on its NATO membership bid at the summit, scheduled to be held from July 9 to 11 in Washington, DC.

The United States has provided more than $51.2 billion worth of weaponry for Ukraine since the conflict with Russia started in 2022, according to the Pentagon.

Meantime, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed the weapons and ammunition provided by the US military help give Kiev forces "a chance at victory" against the advancing Russian troops.