Latest U.S. aid package to Ukraine includes surveillance drones -official

President Joe Biden's latest security assistance package for Ukraine includes surveillance drones and for the first time mine-resistant vehicles, a senior U.S. defense official said on Friday. Since Russian troops poured over the Ukrainian border in February in what Russian President Vladimir Putin termed a "special military operation," the conflict has settled into a war of attrition fought primarily in the east and south of Ukraine.

President Joe Biden's latest security assistance package for Ukraine includes surveillance drones and for the first time mine-resistant vehicles, a senior U.S. defense official said on Friday.

Since Russian troops poured over the Ukrainian border in February in what Russian President Vladimir Putin termed a "special military operation," the conflict has settled into a war of attrition fought primarily in the east and south of Ukraine. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the package would be valued at $775 million and also include additional ammunition and 16 Howitzer systems.

The package would include 15 Scan Eagle surveillance drones, 40 MaxxPro MRAP (mine resistant ambush protected vehicles) and about 1,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles. Reuters first reported on the package on Thursday.

This would bring the total U.S. military aid sent to Ukraine since the Feb. 24 invasion by Russia to $10.6 billion.