U.S. President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine earlier in the week brought additional security aid for the Ukrainian military.
Worth almost half a billion, the latest package of security aid is tailored to help the Ukrainian forces hold the ongoing Russian offensive.
Ammunition for Defense
The Ukrainian military can use all the security aid it can get right. The Russian forces have launched their long-awaited large-scale offensive operation in the Donbas.
To be sure, the Russian assault isn’t going well, and the Ukrainian forces have been absorbing the heaviest blows without any significant territorial losses—they have been suffering casualties, though. But fending off tens of thousands of Russian troops is expensive in terms of ammunition. The latest security aid package is aimed specifically at that.
The 32nd package of security aid to Ukraine includes the following:
Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
Additional 155mm artillery rounds;
Additional 120mm mortar rounds;
Four air surveillance radars;
Additional Javelin anti-armor systems;
Approximately 2,000 anti-armor rockets;
Four Bradley Infantry Fire Support Team vehicles;
Two tactical vehicles to recover equipment;
Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
Demolition munitions;
Night vision devices;
Tactical secure communications systems;
Medical supplies;
Spare parts and other field equipment.
This package is coming from a Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), meaning that the weapon systems and ammunition is coming out from the stocks of the Department of Defense.
The other major type of security aid to Ukraine is coming from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which provides the funds to purchase new weapon systems from the industry for Ukraine.
This type of aid provides brand-new weapon systems to Ukraine, but it is also much slower than drawdowns from the Pentagon’s arsenal.
Total Security Aid to Ukraine
All in all, since the Russian invasion almost 12 months ago, the U.S. has sent or committed to sending Ukraine approximately $29.8 billion in security aid and more than $30.4 billion in the last three years. The U.S. is by far the single biggest contributor of military assistance to Ukraine, with the United Kingdom second with around $5 billion. Poland, Germany, and Canada take the rest spots in the top 5.
More than 50 countries have sent or committed to sending weapon systems to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military is gathering arms in order to bolster its offensive capabilities in anticipation of a large-scale counteroffensive later in the year—most likely at the end of spring or the start of the summer.
Kyiv is set to receive several hundred main battle tanks, including Challenger 2, Leopard 2, and M1 Abrams, from the West, as well as infantry fighting vehicles, and longer-range precision-guided munitions.
Indeed, Ukraine will be receiving Joint Terminal Attack Munitions (JDAM), a GPS, precision-guided kit that turns older munitions into smart bombs with extended range.
When the time to counterstrike, the Ukrainian military will be much better equipped than the last major large-scale counteroffensive last fall. Then, the Ukrainian forces liberated hundreds of square miles of territory in just a few days.
With the new weapon systems, the Ukrainian forces might be able to deal a devastating blow to the Russian invasion.
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Expert Biography: A 19FortyFive Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
