The United States on July 23 announced the approval of $322 million in arms sales to bolster Ukraine's air defenses and its armored combat vehicles.
The sale of HAWK air defense equipment and sustainment will cost up to $172 million, while Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle equipment and services will total up to $150 million, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said.
The proposed HAWK equipment sale "will improve Ukraine's capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust air defense capability," DSCA said.
And the Bradley equipment and services will help meet Ukraine's "urgent need to strengthen local sustainment capabilities to maintain high operational rates for United States provided vehicles and weapon systems," it said.
The State Department approved the possible sales and the DSCA provided the required notification to the US Congress, which still needs to sign off on the transactions.
US President Donald Trump on July 14 said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he planned to provide Ukraine with “billions of dollars” in weapons that NATO will purchase.
At the same time, Trump gave Russia 50 days to agree to a cease-fire before threatening to impose economic penalties on countries trading with Russia that could nudge Moscow to the negotiating table.
The approval of the potential weapons sales comes after the Pentagon directed a pause on other weapons shipments to Ukraine to allow it to assess its weapons stockpiles even as Kyiv faced heavy Russian missile and drone attacks that continued late on July 23.
Russian forces struck the Black Sea port of Odesa, triggering several fires in residential and other buildings. Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said two floors of an apartment building had been set ablaze, while other fires broke out on the roof of a two-story residence, in kiosks, and at a petrol station.
Ukrainian drones, meanwhile, hit southern Russian areas, killing one person, injuring another, and hitting an oil storage depot.
Emergency officials in the Krasnodar region on the Black Sea said on Telegram that debris from a falling drone struck and killed a woman near Sochi. A second woman was being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
The administrative head of the federal district south of Sochi said a drone hit an oil base. The official gave no further details.
Russia's aviation authority said operations were suspended at Sochi airport for about four hours.
Earlier on July 23, Russia and Ukraine agreed on another prisoner exchange during negotiations in Turkey.
The brief session resulted in no progress on cease-fire terms or a possible meeting of the leaders of Ukraine and Russia.
"We have progress on the humanitarian track, with no progress on a cessation of hostilities," chief Ukrainian delegate Rustem Umerov said after talks.
Ukraine proposed a meeting before the end of August between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Umerov said. Russia could “clearly demonstrate its constructive approach” by agreeing to the proposal, he added.
Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky renewed Moscow's call for a series of short cease-fires of 24-48 hours to enable the retrieval of bodies. Ukraine says it wants an immediate and much longer cease-fire.
On the prisoner swap, Medinsky said the negotiators agreed to exchange at least 1,200 more prisoners of war from each side, and Russia had offered to hand over another 3,000 Ukrainian bodies.
Medinsky said severely injured individuals are also to be exchanged along the front.
Zelenskyy also referred to the swap in his nightly video address, saying that preparations continued all day on July 23 for the exchange.
“We are waiting for our people back home. It is very important that despite all difficulties, Ukrainians are coming back,” he said.
