By LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is expected to announce Friday that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said, adding that it will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defense systems.

The officials said the aid package will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means that it could take many months or years for the weapons to arrive. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.

The new funding — the largest tranche of USAI aid sent to date – will include a wide array of munitions for air defense, such as the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAM) and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), as well as the Patriot munitions, Switchblade and Puma drones, counter drone systems and artillery.

The announcement is expected to come as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convenes a virtual meeting on Friday of defense officials from Europe and around the world to discuss international aid for Ukraine. The gathering — created by Austin and known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — has been meeting about monthly for the past two years, and is the primary forum for weapons contributions to Kyiv for the war.

It follows the White House decision earlier this week to approve the delivery of $1 billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Those weapons include a variety of ammunition, including air defense munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds that are much in demand by Ukrainian forces, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons.

That aid, however, will get to Ukraine quickly because it is being pulled off Pentagon shelves, including in warehouses in Europe.

The large back-to-back packages are the result of the new infusion of about $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. And they provide weapons Kyiv desperately needs to stall gains being made by Russian forces in the war.

Bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding for months, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The $95 billion foreign aid package, which also included billions for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House on Saturday, and the Senate approved it Tuesday.

Senior U.S. officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains.

Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the U.S. has sent more than $44 billion worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.

Among the weapons provided to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 battle tanks. But Ukraine has now sidelined them in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.

The box score shows that Twins right-handed starter Simeon Woods Richardson did not get the decision in Thursday’s win over the Chicago White Sox. But a decision with far more consequences did go his way.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli revealed before the game that the 23-year-old Woods Richardson had earned a spot in the Twins’ starting rotation. He essentially switches spots with Louie Varland, sent down to the Saints earlier this week after struggling as a member of the rotation.

Asked what it felt like to be part of the rotation, Woods Richardson said: “Long time coming. A lot of hard work, a lot of blood, sweat and tears over the years.”

“It’s actually a sense of humbleness, one, thankfulness, gratitude,” he added. “But it’s time to get back to work. We’re still trying to get better, we’re still trying to learn. We’re still trying to ask questions of all these guys and trying to be a better pitcher.”

Woods Richardson came to the Twins from Toronto in 2021 along with Austin Martin in the trade that sent Jose Berrios to the Blue Jays. He currently is ranked the No. 24 prospect in the organization by MLB.com.

Woods Richardson said he was told he was going to pitch on Thursday earlier in the week, but the Twins didn’t announce it until after Wednesday night’s game, with Bailey Ober’s start pushed back a day.

“With Lou’s spot in the rotation opening up, we obviously had a place there,” Baldelli said. “We had an option on when to throw Simeon. It allowed us to push some of our guys back; get Bailey the extra day more than anything else.

“Bailey is doing great, but if we can get him an extra day, I think that makes some sense. Sim was also ready to throw; this was his day to pitch. It all kind of just pointed to today.”

Until now, Woods Richardson had been used as an emergency starter for the Twins, with him returning to the Saints after the game. Baldelli praised the way Woods Richardson handled a difficult situation, showing maturity beyond his age.

“It’s not easy going back and forth, and not really knowing where you’re going to be,” the manager said. “He knows where he stands. He knows as a young player you’re going to have to prove yourself.

“You have to be able to take advantage of the opportunities whenever and wherever they come from. He’s handled everything well.”

Correa getting close

Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, sidelined since April 13 because of a right intercostal strain, has resumed baseball activities and will be with the team on the road trip that begins Friday night in Anaheim, Calif. He could be back in the lineup before the team returns from the six-game trip.

“I don’t want to make any statements because I don’t know what his next four or five days are going to look like,” Baldelli said. “But he’s put himself in a good spot; he’s had no setbacks.

“The injury proved to be what we thought it was — a mild strain. So, he can do a lot. We want to make sure he can do everything pain free. It’s been very positive.”

Farmer’s struggles

Twins infielder Kyle Farmer, whose offensive struggles continue, was not in the lineup on Thursday. The 33-year-old Farmer, a lifetime .250 hitter, is hitting .067 this season and is hitless in his past 14 at-bats.

Baldelli spent some time with Farmer in his office prior to the game.

“Everybody needs to converse, to talk about some things and get your mind off of some things,” Baldelli said. “This might be one of those times for Kyle. He’s going to be fine.”

Suddenly, the Twins are talking about a winning streak, about playing the type of baseball they believe they are capable of playing, about hot bats and playing well in all facets of the game.

A four-game sweep can lead to that, and the Twins saw their wishes become reality on Thursday afternoon, beating the Chicago White Sox 6-3 before an announced crowd of 20,363.

“I think going into this series we felt that this was a stretch that we have the opportunity to turn some stuff around,” said Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, who hit his fourth home run of the season. “Kind of get some mojo back, start swinging it better. I think we did exactly that.

“I thinks there’s still are areas where we can improve, there’s still spots where we’re going to get better.”

The Twins hit five home runs — all after the fifth inning — to erase a 2-0 deficit. They twice went back to back; Edouard Julien and Jeffers in the sixth, and Carlos Santana and Jose Miranda in the eighth. Julien hit his second of the game in seventh.

Right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson, called up from the Saints to make his third major-league start and second this season, pitched five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. The bullpen kept things in check until the ninth when the White Sox scratched across a run.

“You have to like a lot of what we saw today,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It was a really good series for us. We wanted to get a lot of things in order this week at home and play well. We were able to do much of it.”

The White Sox, who dropped to 3-22, are losing at an alarming rate. But as far as the Twins are concerned, a sweep is a sweep, no matter the opponent.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 25: Simeon Woods Richardson #78 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning at Target Field on April 25, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

“They’re a big-league club,” Jeffers said. “I don’t think we treat it any differently. You can look at the record all you want, but that’s a full clubhouse of big-league baseball players. We won four games. We could have easily come in here and not shown up and lost these games.

“To be the team we want to be you’ve got to beat the teams you’re supposed to beat. I think we did a good job of that.”

The Twins hit into some tough luck in the early innings against starter Michael Soroka. But that changed in the sixth when Julien led off the inning with a home run. When Jeffers matched it, the game was tied and Soroka’s day was done.

The Twins took the lead before the inning was over, with Willi Castro delivering an RBI single.

Julien hit a solo homer in the seventh before Santana and Miranda went back to back in the eighth.

“The homers are huge, there’s no way around it,” Baldelli said. “But you don’t hit homers by going up there swinging big and trying to hit homers. Our guys weren’t doing that. They just tried to barrel some balls up and they left the yard.”

Julien, who said he is feeling good at the plate after a slow start, does not think his power surge is something that necessarily will continue.

“I feel like there are times I am going to hit four in one week and other times where I’m not going to hit homers,” he said. “For me, I’m more of a complete hitter than a power hitter. My goal is to just get on base and help the team win.”

Woods Richardson was pleased with his effort on a day he had less than his best stuff.

“I didn’t feel I had everything, but that’s OK,” he said. “You’re going to have games like that. What you can piece together with what you’ve got is kind of where I was at. Just trying to compete.”

Offered Jeffers: “He did a good job of keeping us in the game. He was in attack mode and stayed in attack mode. That’s all we can ask of him.”

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