by LOLITA C. BALDOR and MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will provide $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, rolling out funding for a Patriot missile battery as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Washington for a first trip out of his country since Russia invaded in February.
The White House announcement came just hours before Zelenskyy was expected to arrive. The package includes $1 billion in weapons and equipment from Pentagon stocks, including the Patriot battery, and $850 million in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Part of the USAI will be used to fund a satellite communications system, which likely will include the crucial SpaceX Starlink satellite network system owned by Elon Musk.
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