Pentagon to Provide Ukraine with Weapons and Ammunition Worth $200 Million
According to two American officials, the Pentagon will supply Ukraine with weaponry and ammunition amounting to $200 million to aid in supporting Kyiv's counteroffensive, as frontline troops are facing significant obstacles against well-entrenched Russian defense
According to Associated Press.
This latest package will include rockets for the highly mobile High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Patriot air defense system, ammunition for howitzers and tanks, Javelin missiles, demining equipment, 12 million rounds of small arms ammunition, and explosives, as stated in the official statement by a US spokesperson. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as the aid has not been publicly announced yet.
The assistance comes at a time when the US funding for Ukraine is nearly depleted, and the Biden administration is expected to request a new package of additional aid from Congress to continue this support.
After last year's Russian invasion, Ukraine has already received over $43 billion from the US. This funding has provided weaponry such as howitzers and millions of ammunition to counter the significantly larger Russian army. Due to the intense and bloody ground warfare, a substantial portion of ammunition and weaponry has already been depleted.
In the eastern regions of the country, intense battles between the two sides result in 'multiple changes' of positions and control along the front line within a day, as reported by Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, on her official Telegram channel.
The Biden administration funds military actions in Ukraine through two programs: the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which enables the procurement of weapons from existing US stocks, and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which finances long-term contracts for larger armament systems like tanks that defense companies must build or modify. Both funding avenues continue until the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
The administration would have run out of funds for PDA in the 2023 fiscal year had the Pentagon not identified an accounting error, overestimating previous rounds of armament systems provided to Ukraine. As a result, it retained approximately $6.2 billion for PDA to sustain support until Congress approves additional funds. This latest $200 million aid package was obtained from this surplus.
'We're confident we'll be able to continue providing Ukraine what it needs on the battlefield,' said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh. 'I'm just not going to get ahead of any additional or supplemental requests to Congress.'
Additionally, around $600 million remains in the USAI funds for the 2023 fiscal year.