U.S President, Joe Biden instructed State Department to release up to $350 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to CNN.

Russian President Vladimir Putin government began invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday.

Biden instructed Secretary of State, Antony Blinken to release up to $350 million in immediate support to security and defense.

CNN says that this was contained in a new memo released by the White House late Friday.

This is the third drawdown of money; previous orders have been for $60 million and $250 million, putting the total over the last year at over a billion dollars, according to an administration official.

The State Department is expected to issue its own statement with more details shortly.

This release comes after a 40-minute call between Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier Friday, during which they discussed “concrete defense assistance.”