A $275 million military aid package unveiled Friday by the Biden administration will provide Ukraine with rockets, artillery shells and other “urgently needed” weapons and equipment to halt advances Russians in the northeast of this war-torn country.
This is the fifth tranche of aid to kyiv since Congress last month approved an additional $60 billion in funding.
It includes munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155mm and 105mm artillery shells; Tube-launched, optically tracked and wire-guided (TOW) missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; precision aerial munitions; demolition munitions; and anti-armor mines, among other equipment.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the firepower toward kyiv “significant” and “urgently needed” to defend against a Russian offensive near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
“Aid from previous programs has already reached the front lines, and we will deliver this new aid as quickly as possible so that the Ukrainian military can use it to defend its territory and protect the Ukrainian people,” Blinken said in a press release.
“As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have built will continue to stand with Ukraine in defense of its freedom,” he added.
The package also includes small arms and small arms ammunition; grenades; demolition munitions; anti-armor mines; tactical vehicles; bullet proof vest; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection equipment and spare parts.
The weapons are sent through the President’s Withdrawal Authority, which draws from existing Defense Department stockpiles.
This is the 58th shipment of military equipment provided to Ukraine from DoD stockpiles since August 2021.
“I am grateful to Joe Biden, the US Congress and both parties, and the American people for the new military aid package announced today,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. written the.
“This package is crucial at this time, as the enemy intensifies its attacks along the front line,” he added. “Today in Kharkiv, I witnessed the importance of strengthening our warriors in order to protect our people, our cities and our communities.”
In his daily speech, Zelensky said the Ukrainian army had “managed to take military control of the border zone” near Kharkiv “where the Russian occupiers entered.”
He said he visited a Kharkiv printing house bombed by Russian troops on Thursday, an attack in which seven employees were killed and 21 others injured.
“Freedom is a value dear to our two nations. To protect it, we need strong and continued support from the United States and other allies,” Zelensky said.
The United States has provided Ukraine with approximately $51 billion in military aid since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
New York Post
