US Plans Major New Non-Lethal Military Aid Package for Ukraine

Deal Will Include Armored Humvees, Officials Say

The Obama Administration is preparing to unveil a massive new military aid package for Ukraine in the days to come, with officials saying it will include a number of armored Humvees.

Even though the Humvees can be used in offensive operations, the package is being referred to as a “non-lethal aid” package, which just means it doesn’t include any guns or ammunition.

That won’t sit well with the Ukrainian government, which has been pushing the US for major shipments of arms to help them crush the ethnic Russian rebels that currently control the nation’s far east.

There is a tenuous ceasefire with the eastern rebels right now, though about 1,000 people have been slain in the east since then. The US has not been particularly keen on that ceasefire in the first place, and to the extent that the shipments are putting more strain on it, they’re likely comfortable with that.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.