The Pentagon said Friday that the Biden administration has committed up to $125 million in security assistance to Ukraine from the U.S. Department of Defense reserves to meet Ukraine’s immediate battlefield needs, as well as $300 million dollars through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). for additional laser-guided ammunition to combat drones.
In particular, the new package includes:
- additional ammunition for anti-aircraft missile systems (NASAMS);
- additional ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS);
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155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells;
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optically guided missiles (TOW);
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Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems;
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more than 3 million cartridges for small arms and grenades;
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ammunition to clear obstacles;
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M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel ammunition;
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12 trucks for transporting heavy equipment;
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equipment for cold climates;
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spare parts, maintenance and other field equipment.
This is the 50th package of military assistance to Ukraine transferred from the US Department of Defense arsenal since August 2021. It includes additional air defense systems, artillery munitions, anti-tank weapons and other military equipment that should help Ukraine to resist Russia’s current military aggression.
The allocation of these weapons to Ukraine was already authorized in previous fiscal years, according to the United States Presidential Force Drawdown Authority (PDA).
The Pentagon said in a statement that “this package uses $300 million of USAI funds appropriated as part of the continuation resolution recently passed by Congress and exhausts the remaining USAI funds currently available to support Ukraine. “The Administration continues to call on Congress to fulfill its commitment to the people of Ukraine by approving additional funds to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself from Russia’s brutal war.”
The document specifically notes that “the United States continues to cooperate with 50 allies and partners who provide Ukraine with the military it needs to defend itself now and deter Russian aggression in the future.” America’s allies and partners have already provided approximately $35 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
The Pentagon statement emphasized that “under the leadership of the United States, this global coalition enabled brave Ukrainian forces to successfully defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence and recover more than half of the territory captured by Russian occupiers.”