The Defense Department on Friday announced a new $775 million military aid package for Ukraine, as Russia nears the six-month mark with an unprovoked invasion of the country.
The package includes four additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) 16 howitzers and 36,000 rounds of heavy field artillery pieces of ammunition, 15 surveillance drones, and 40 mine-resistant troop transport vehicles.
According to the Defense Department, Ukraine will also receive 50 Humavi-type vehicles, 1,000 Javelins, 2,000 anti-armor rounds, mine clearing equipment, and new communications systems.
This package came after the US announced a $550 million military aid package for Ukraine earlier this month. With the new package, the Biden administration will promise a total of $10.6 billion in security aid to Ukraine. This is the Defense Department’s 19th military aid package for Ukraine from August 2021.
The Defense Department said in a statement, “President Biden has made clear, that we will support Ukraine as they defend their democracy”. “The United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities to meet Ukraine’s emerging battlefield needs.”
While Russia has made incremental territorial gains in Ukraine’s Donbas region over the past months, it currently appears to be on the defensive in Kharkiv and Kherson oblast. HIMARS has allowed Ukraine to attack Russian military reserves, command posts, and other targets far behind the front lines.
Russia has suffered material losses in Crimea following recent explosions at several military installations, including the Saki Air Base in southwest Crimea. The explosions, for which Ukraine has not officially claimed or denied responsibility, have major symbolic and strategic implications for Russia’s hold on the peninsula, Axios Dave Lawler reports. Russia is facing pressure from dozens of countries, the United Nations, and other international organizations to withdraw its troops and military equipment from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.
