The United States Department of Defense confirmed a new round of military aid to Ukraine on Friday, revealing a total of $400 million in “additional security assistance” for the country and its military.
Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $400 million to meet critical needs for Ukraine’s fight.
This authorization is the Biden Administration’s fifteenth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021,” a statement from Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Todd Breasseale reads.
The latest aid package brings the United States’ total security assistance to Ukraine to $2.2 billion in just the last three weeks. In total, the United States has committed a total of $8 billion to Ukraine, and that figure rises to $9.2 billion going back to 2014.
“The United States continues to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its evolving battlefield requirements,” the statement continues.
What’s In the Package?
According to the statement, the latest aid package is primarily focused on providing military hardware to help Ukraine push back Russian soldiers as they gain ground in Luhansk and increase military activity in Donetsk.
Under the package, Ukraine is set to receive:
- Counter-battery systems
- Demolition munitions
- Spare parts
- Three tactical vehicles
- Four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
- A range of other miscellaneous equipment
The tactical vehicles are intended to help Ukrainians recover lost ammunition, supplies, and weapons on the battlefield. They may be used to recover Ukrainian supplies lost during recent conflicts, or even to recover Russian weapons or vehicles that may have been used against Ukraine and since abandoned.
Senior U.S. defense officials say that eight HIMARS are already in Ukraine and that all are presently operational.
The decision to send more HIMARS to Ukraine comes after the Pentagon and defense officials discussed the possibility of increasing Ukraine’s supply of mobile rocket launchers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly called on the United States and NATO to provide long-range weapons but eventually settled for longer range weaponry like the HIMARS that have a range of 50 miles. It means that Ukraine can more effectively counter Russian attacks, but does not have the capability to deliver ammunition across hundreds of miles and into Russian territory – a concern for NATO countries supplying the equipment.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
