US adds aid to Ukraine to deliver munitions for drones and artillery
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday $300 million in military aid to Ukraine, the latest package of weapons and other military equipment the United States has sent to Kiev since the start of the Russian invasion.
The pack contains additional ammunition for drones and long-range artillery. It also includes additional ammunition for Patriot air defense systems and ammunition for other air defense systems, including Stingers, Avengers and Aim-7 systems, the Pentagon said in a statement, as Kiev gears up for its long-awaited offensive to try to push back Russian forces and defend them against air raids from Moscow.
The aid also includes other artillery support, anti-armour weapons and tens of millions of small arms rounds, defense officials said.
Moscow came under a drone strike on Tuesday, an action the Kremlin has blamed on Kiev. A senior Ukrainian official said Kiev was not “directly involved” in the attack, although it was “glad” to see.
So far, US officials say no US-made drones or munitions have been used in attacks on Moscow. But the fact that the United States plans to send additional ammunition for Ukrainian drones shows how serious the Biden administration is about arming Ukraine ahead of the counter-offensive, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. The air defense ammunition in the shipment also suggests that the United States wants to give Ukraine an advantage amid continued attacks from Moscow.
The Pentagon did not specify which unmanned systems were reinforced with the drone munitions in the aid package. The United States has given Ukraine both surveillance and attack drones over the past year, but officials are hesitant to publicly describe exactly which systems were sent.
The package brings the amount of security aid to Ukraine from the United States since Russia invaded last February to $37.6 billion, the Pentagon said.
“This authorization is the Biden administration’s 39th withdrawal of equipment from DOD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021,” the Pentagon statement said, referring to Defense Department stockpiles. “It contains important capabilities to support Ukraine’s air defenses as they valiantly protect Ukraine’s soldiers, civilians and critical infrastructure amid Russia’s ongoing airstrikes that kill civilians across Ukraine.”
John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman, said Wednesday that the administration will continue arms deliveries through the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends in the fall. “
As for when the government should go to Congress for more money for Ukraine, Mr Kirby said “we still have some time to figure that out.”
Michael D. Shave reporting contributed.