US allocates $400 mln in additional aid for Ukraine

The US Department of Defense (DoD) on Thursday announced the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $400 million to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. 

 

This authorization is the Biden Administration’s twenty-fifth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.

Capabilities in this package include:     

 

•    Missiles for HAWK air defense systems;     

 

•    Four Avenger air defense systems, and Stinger missiles;   

 

•    Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);   

 

•    21,000 155mm artillery rounds;     

 

•    500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;   

 

•    10,000 120mm mortar rounds;      

 

•    100 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);   

 

•    400 grenade launchers;      

 

•    Small arms, optics, and more than 20,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition;     

 

•    Demolition equipment for obstacle clearing;     

 

•    Cold weather protective gear.

 

The agency said with Russia’s “unrelenting and brutal air attacks” on Ukrainian critical infrastructure, additional air defense capabilities were “critical”. 

 

“The HAWK missiles, which will be refurbished using Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds, will complement Spain’s recent commitment of HAWK launchers to help Ukraine meet this threat. The Avenger short-range air defense systems will also provide Ukraine with capability to protect Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure against Unmanned Aerial Systems and helicopters”, said the DoD.

In total, the United States has committed more than $19.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, while since 2014 it has ensured more than $21.4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and more than $18.6 billion since the beginning of Russia’s invasion on February 24.