Immediately after President Joe Biden signed the foreign security aid package Bill into law, the Defense Department announced a hefty new package of weapons and equipment worth $1 billion to support Ukrainian forces with urgently needed capabilities in its fight against Russia.
This announcement is the Biden Administration’s fifty-sixth tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories to Ukraine since August 2021. This Presidential Drawdown Authority package includes air defense missiles, air defense interceptors, artillery rounds, armored vehicles, and anti-tank weapons.
According to the Pentagon, the capabilities to be provided to Ukraine include RIM-7 and AIM-9M missiles for air defense; Stinger anti-aircraft missiles; Small arms and ammunition, including .50 caliber rounds to counter drones; Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155mm artillery rounds, including High Explosive and Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions rounds; TOW missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; Precision aerial munitions and a variety of combat vehicles.
The Pentagon announcement came shortly after Biden signed the security supplemental bill.
At a briefing following the signing ceremony, Biden said, “I’m making sure the shipments start right away. In the next few hours — literally, a few hours — we’re going to begin sending in equipment to Ukraine for air defense munitions, for artillery, for rocket systems and armored vehicles.”.
“We are sending a powerful message today about the power of American leadership as we support Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression,” Secretary Of State Antony Blinken said.
Meanwhile, Kharkiv and Odesa – the second and third-largest cities in Ukraine – sustained another wave of attacks by Russia overnight, causing civilian casualties and damages to homes and infrastructure.
With funds to arm Ukraine exhausted, U.S. Defense officials had warned that without action from Congress, further U.S. assistance for Ukraine could be in jeopardy at a critical time in Ukraine’s fight against Russia in the two-year-old war.
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