A $400 million military aid package unveiled by the Pentagon on Friday will provide Ukraine with surface-to-air missiles, artillery rounds and other much-needed weaponry and equipment to hold off Russian advances in the war-torn country’s northeast.
Friday’s package is the third tranche of aid for Kyiv since Congress approved $60 billion in additional funding last month.
It includes munitions for Patriot air defense systems and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems; Stinger anti-aircraft missiles; High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and ammunition; howitzer artillery rounds; High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs); Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles; M113 Armored Personnel Carriers; and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, among other equipment.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the firepower heading Kyiv’s way as “significant” and “urgently needed” as Russian forces made a renewed bid to capture Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv.
“As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine in its defense of its freedom,” Blinken said in a statement.
The package also includes coastal and riverine patrol boats; trailers; TOW and Javelin missiles; AT-4 anti-armor systems; precision aerial munitions and demolitions munitions; ammunition for small arms; grenades; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protective equipment and spare parts.
The weapons are being sent through the president’s drawdown authority, which pulls from existing Defense Department stockpiles.
It is the 57th shipment of military equipment being provided to Ukraine from DoD inventories since August 2021.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he hopes to have the weapons on the battlefield as soon as possible.
“This is exactly what we need. Thank you,” Zelensky said of the new aid package in his daily address.
“We are working on logistics to ensure that all the weapons prove their worth at the front as soon as possible,” he added.
Zelensky, 46, indicated that Russian troops are in the process of expanding their operations in Kharkiv, near Russia’s border, and that he has directed more manpower to the region as a result.
The White House believes the new aid package and future shipments of defensive and offensive weapons will prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from making any significant gains in Ukraine for at least the rest of the year.
“It is possible that Russia will make further advances in the coming weeks, but we do not anticipate any major breakthroughs,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday. “And over time, the influx of US assistance will enable Ukraine to withstand these attacks over the course of 2024.”
The US has provided Ukraine roughly $50.6 billion in military aid since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
