The United States is expected to announce $275 million in military aid to Ukraine tomorrow as Kiev tries to stem the advance of Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, the Associated Press reported, citing U.S. officials. BTA.
This will be the fourth military aid package for Ukraine since Congress late last month passed a long-delayed bill to support the armed forces of foreign allies. President Joe Biden's administration has promised to maintain a steady supply of weapons and send them to the front lines as quickly as possible.
According to two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the package includes HIMARS high-mobility rocket systems (HIMARS), as well as 155mm and 105mm artillery shells. In addition, it includes anti-tank systems "Javelin" (Javelin) and "AT-4" (AT-4), anti-tank mines, tactical vehicles, small arms and ammunition.
The news of the package comes after the monthly meeting of about 50 defense chiefs, who meet regularly to coordinate more military aid to Ukraine, took place on Monday. At the latest meeting, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Ukraine is in a "challenging moment" because of the new Russian offensive against the country's second largest city – Kharkiv. He promised to continue the arms deliveries on a weekly basis.
Russia is seeking to take advantage of Ukraine's manpower and weapons shortages as the war-torn country awaits the arrival of more U.S. aid that has been delayed for months by Congress, the AP noted. In places, the Ukrainian forces were pushed back, and against this background, Russia is shelling the energy grid and civilian areas.
In the month since Biden signed the $95 billion foreign aid package, which included about $61 billion for Ukraine, the U.S. has announced the shipment of nearly $1.7 billion worth of arms to Kiev from Pentagon stockpiles.
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In addition, they announced $6 billion in funding under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. This money is earmarked for longer-term contracts with the defense industry, meaning the weapons under them could be delivered months or even years away.
With this latest package, the total value of US military aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022 has now reached almost $51 billion.