WASHINGTON/KYIV — The US government on Monday announced additional military assistance to Ukraine worth $725 million for its needs in the conflict with Russia.

Weapons in the latest package include air defense capabilities, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, and anti-tank weapons, according to a news release from the Department of Defense.

The provision followed US President Joe Biden's announcement on Sept 26 that his administration would provide another significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to Ukraine.

The announcement marks a steep uptick in size from Biden's recent use of the so-called Presidential Draw-down Authority, which allows the United States to draw from current weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the US decision showed that the outgoing Biden administration was determined to throw oil on the fire of the Ukraine crisis to ensure the conflict kept going.

"The current administration is pursuing its goals, its consistent line is to keep this war from slowing down," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Also on Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced new military aid for Ukraine during a rare visit, which he said sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Berlin would stand by Kyiv for as long as needed.

The visit, his first to Kyiv in more than two years, comes ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House and weeks after Scholz's governing coalition in Berlin collapsed, threatening his future as chancellor.

Scholz used the trip to announce further equipment deliveries worth 650 million euros ($683 million) to arrive this month. The package includes IRIS-T air defense systems, Leopard 1 tanks and armed drones, a Defense Ministry spokesperson said.

Fear of direct conflict

While trumpeting Germany as Ukraine's second-biggest weapons supplier after the US, Scholz has repeatedly refused to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, fearing this could draw his country into a direct conflict with Russia.

Scholz has also drawn fire from allies, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself, for holding a phone call with Putin last month for the first time in almost two years, which critics saw as a bid for domestic political gain.

Ukraine is shaping up as a major issue in campaigning for Germany's snap election in February.

Zelensky's government is urging NATO to invite Ukraine during a meeting in Brussels this week to join the US-led military alliance, though some allies remain strongly opposed.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Ukraine joining NATO would pose an unacceptable threat to Russia.

"Such a potential decision is unacceptable to us because it is a threatening event for us," Peskov said.

Xinhua - Agencies