WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (AFP) - The United States will send Ukraine an additional $725m package of weapons and other military assistance, the White House has said, as Washington added to a flurry of aid announcements from European allies this week amid Russia’s renewed missile attacks on Kyiv and other targets.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Friday that the aid follows “in the wake of Russia’s brutal missile attacks on civilians across Ukraine”, and “the mounting evidence of atrocities by Russia’s forces”.

As Ukrainian “defenders push back Russia’s forces”, the US stands united with Ukraine, Blinken said later in a tweet.

Washington’s newest military package includes more ammunition for HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) and brings the total US military assistance to Ukraine to $18.3bn since the start of Joe Biden’s administration, the Department of Defence said in a separate statement.

The US has sent 20 HIMARS to Ukraine and has promised 18 more that would be delivered in the coming years. HIMARS have proven to be a critical weapon that has improved Ukraine’s ability to strike ammunition depots, bridges and other key targets that erode Russia’s ability to resupply troops.

Officials said the new US package is largely aimed at restocking thousands of rounds of ammunition for the weapons systems Ukraine has been successfully using in its counteroffensive against Russia, as the war stretches into its eighth month.

Ukraine’s immediate needs continue to be additional air defences, the Department of Defense said in a statement.

“The Russians have launched hundreds of rockets at the major Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian forces have had some success at shooting down the missiles, but they need more air defence capabilities,” the statement said.

A senior defence official told reporters at the Pentagon that Russia had fired more than 80 missiles at Ukrainian targets during one recent 24-hour period and that Ukrainian air defences were able to intercept about half of them.