Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping that the new $40 billion Ukraine aid package passed by Congress means that the US will start supplying more advanced high-end weapons.
The bulk of the aid package is allocated for military assistance, including $11 billion in a presidential drawdown authority that allows President Biden to send weapons from US stockpiles to Ukraine. US lawmakers that have visited Ukraine in recent weeks detailed to Defense News the sort of weapons Zelensky is hoping Washington will provide.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-(WY), and Rep. Jason Crow, D-(CO) both met Zelensky recently and said he is seeking long-range rocket artillery, anti-ship missiles, and long-range drones.
Reuters reported Thursday that the US was considering sending advanced anti-ship missiles to Ukraine to help them hit Russian ships in the Black Sea, extending the battlefield where Kyiv can use US-provided weapons. The report said the US is considering sending Boeing-made Harpoon missiles and the Naval Strike Missile, which is made by Raytheon and Kongsberg.
Politico reported that the US has been hesitant to give Ukraine long-range rockets over fears that they could be used to launch attacks inside Russia, which risks an escalation with Moscow. The report said Ukrainian officials have been pleading with the US to provide Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and have grown frustrated by Washington’s hesitancy.
So far, the US has provided Ukraine with small Switchblade kamikaze drones and Phoenix Ghost drones, which have similar capabilites. Crow said Zelensky wants “more sophisticated intelligence and surveillance drones as well as attack drones that can be reused multiple times instead of the Kamikaze drones we’ve given them.” There have been several media reports that Ukraine might receive Predator drones, which the US has used for airstrikes across the Middle East and North Africa.
Biden administration officials have said that they are gearing up to send more advanced weaponry to Ukraine. “We are looking at additional high-end systems that would provide new capabilities,” Jessica Lewis, the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, told a Senate hearing last week.
The massive aid package is a boon for US arms makers who stand to gain long-term benefits from the war in Ukraine. The package includes funding to replenish weapons stocks that have been sent to Ukraine, including Stinger anti-aircraft and Javelin anti-tank missile systems. President Biden recently visited a Lockheed Martin facility in Alabama that produces Javelins to praise the company for making the weapons.
Besides providing Ukraine with more advanced weapons, the massive aid package allows the US to prepare for supporting Ukraine in the long term. US officials have warned that they expect a prolonged conflict and have made clear that one of the US goals in Ukraine is to hurt Russia.
uncle sam = gun store for the world
Please someone get rid of Zelensky. He is a bad actor and puppet of obama and the West.
Yeah, but he plays a mean piano.
Giving this pipsqueak clown the right to take over the world is so obscene.
Sen. John B & Rep. Jason C both met Pres Z. Sen.Lindsey G. wants to fudge/fiddle with the definition of ‘terrorism’ and give Russian State that definition. Is anyone sitting back & thinking: can this get Americans killed or ‘my loved ones’? Do US goverment officials/law writers think they are forever isolated & won’t be affected. What happens when their opponent actually becomes an opponent? What does this look like to Russian eyea taht can & so follow events. Is escalation really so managable?
Indeed, a recent statement from NATO was that the conflict will have no major changes for months, apparently despite the massive western spending on weapons giveaways.
Sure Mr. Zelensky what would you like. Perhaps a few aircraft carriers, some ballistic missile submarines, a few minuteman 3 missiles with nukes on them.
Maybe a years supply of cocaine would also be to your liking.
Thank heavens the kill ratio is 15 Ukrainians for every Russian. This special operation will be over sooner than you think.
“Politico reported that the US has been hesitant to give Ukraine long-range rockets over fears that they could be used to launch attacks inside Russia, which risks an escalation with Moscow.”
It’s almost comical how the US wants to stay on that edge when it comes to gaging how much provocation will set off WW3 while knowing there is no putting the genie back in the bottle when they do go over that edge. Playing chicken with our lives.
The Washington UkroNazis have to “win” before winter or their people will be eating their dogs and burning their furniture. And the rest of us won’t be far behind.
I appreciate the effort to avoid WW3. I want invaders to lose but I don’t want WW3. Biden is doing a pretty good job here under pretty emotional circumstances. It will get worse once we see all the war crimes committed in liberated areas of Ukr.
“Biden is doing a pretty good job here under pretty emotional circumstances.”
It’s hard to even respond to that. WOW!!!! is all I got. And you must be out of your god damn mind.
Zelensky wants a decisive advantage in military hardware. But, if we assume that Biden is attempting to use the same strategy that took down the Soviet Union, his goal is not to “win”, but to keep the war in Ukraine going as long as possible in an effort to bankrupt Russia.
But hubris reigns in D.C. Biden thought he could force Russia to default on sovereign debt. That didn’t happen. He thought that Russia’s economy is so exposed to world trade that the economy would collapse without it. That didn’t happen. Now, we’re talking about how many jobs Russia will lose when companies like McDonald’s pull out. Those companies will most likely change their name and reopen the next day. He seriously underestimated the capabilities of Russia’s military – which is very close to a devastating victory in the Donbas region.
We have come to a point where no increase in weaponry is likely to make much of a difference because there won’t be a lot of soldiers left to use whatever can get there. On top of that, Putin is putting his new secret weapon into the field. The laser cannon is a game changer, not because it is so deadly, but because it is so inexpensive to operate.
There is little known about the Russian version of the laser cannon. But we can get a good idea of how effective is will be by looking at the US version.
Directed Energy Weapons vs Flock of Flying Toys
The Netherlands just announced that they will not be sending any more long-range howitzers to Ukraine. Could it be that the five they already delivered were destroyed in that Russian attack on a military base near LVIV three days ago and they figure, “Why send more?”
I still think it would be much cheaper to make Ukraine a US State…
Er, Donna…Israel already beat them to it.
Ukraine is already a U.S. colony.
Oh, the stories of the “brave Ukrainians” taking on the mighty Russians!
The Russians aren’t fighting Ukraine. They’re fighting Amerikkka and NATO.