The U.S. will provide up to $250 million in arms and equipment to Ukraine, including air defense munitions and artillery ammunition, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

The package includes additional air defense capabilities, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment "to help Ukraine counter Russia's war of aggression," the Department of Defense said in a release. 

"These capabilities will support Ukraine's most pressing needs to enable its forces to defend their sovereignty and independence," the DoD said.

"U.S. leadership is essential to sustaining the coalition efforts of some 50 allies and partners currently supporting Ukraine. Security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security. It deters potential aggression elsewhere in the world, while strengthening our defense industrial base and creating highly skilled jobs for the American people," it added. 

"It remains critical that Congress takes action as soon as possible in the new year on the President's national security supplemental request to ensure that our support for Ukraine can continue, and Ukraine is able to defend itself against Russia's ongoing attacks and consolidate and extend its battlefield gains."

The move comes about a week after chamber leaders said the U.S. Senate will not vote on a package to provide more aid to Ukraine and bolster U.S. border security before early next year.

"Our negotiators are going to be working very, very diligently over the December and January break period, and our goal is to get something done as soon as we get back," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Dec. 19.

The chamber's No. 2 Republican, John Thune, also said a deal would not be reached before January. "Democrats have run out the clock to the point where getting a substantive border security deal passed before Christmas is impossible," he said on the Senate floor.

In a joint statement, Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said negotiators "are making encouraging progress" but "challenging issues remain."

Information from Reuters was used in this report.