White House spokesman Ernest said at a regular press briefing that the additional assistance includes radio equipment, secure communications equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-mortar radar and medical equipment such as first aid kits and military ambulances, with a total value of 75 million U.S. dollars.
Obama also approved the provision of 30 Humvee armored vehicles and 200 Humvee unarmored vehicles to the Ukrainian government, an anonymous U.S. government official told some media outlets.
The Obama administration has been limited to providing non-lethal weapons assistance to the Ukrainian government since the conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted last April. Ernest said the U.S. had previously provided between $100 million and $120 million worth of such assistance.
Ernest also said there is still evidence that Russia is continuing to provide weapons and munitions to civilian forces in eastern Ukraine, and that the U.S. continues to be concerned about whether Russia and the eastern Ukrainian civilian forces are adhering to the commitments they made in the New Minks cease-fire agreement.
The United States and the European Union have been urging Ukraine, Russia and the eastern Ukrainian civilian forces to honor the cease-fire agreements reached in the Belarusian capital of Minsk last September and February. Despite the fact that the date set for the ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons under the new Minsk agreement has passed, the Ukrainian military has not yet fully completed the withdrawal of heavy weapons, citing the failure of the eastern civil armed forces to seriously honor the agreement and their continued breach of the ceasefire. The Ukrainian authorities have also failed to recognize the claim of the eastern Ukrainian civilian armed forces that the withdrawal of heavy weapons was completed on 1 March. At present, sporadic armed clashes continue to take place in the conflict areas of eastern Ukraine on a daily basis.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Nov. 11 that it had imposed sanctions on a number of individuals and groups suspected of destabilizing the situation in Ukraine, including eight leaders of the civilian armed forces in eastern Ukraine.
The Obama administration has said the United States will consider providing lethal weapons assistance to the Ukrainian government if the new Minsk agreements are not honored. But Ernest said Obama was "cognizant" of the potential risks associated with such assistance, including an escalation of the conflict resulting in more killings.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on October 10 that the priority is to strictly implement all the provisions of the new Minsk agreements, and that the Ukrainian crisis can only be resolved through political dialog.
Obama signed the "Support for Ukraine Freedom Act" passed by the U.S. Congress in December last year. The bill includes $350 million in fiscal year 2015 to provide Ukraine with anti-tank guns and armor-piercing ammunition and other weaponry, while authorizing Obama to provide military equipment to Ukraine.