The US on Friday pledged a new $3.075 billion weapons package for Ukraine that includes Bradley Fighting Vehicles for the first time, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called an “awesome Christmas present” as it was announced on the eve of Orthodox Christmas.
The aid marks the single largest arms package the US has pledged to Ukraine at one time since Russia’s invasion. On Twitter, Zelensky thanked President Biden for the “all-time defense package” and said it was an “awesome Christmas present” for Ukraine that would bring a “common victory” for the US and Ukraine.
The $3.075 billion includes $2.85 billion in presidential drawdown authority, which allows Biden to send Ukraine weapons directly from US military stockpiles. Ukraine will also receive $225 million under the State Department’s Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, which provides foreign governments with funds to purchase US-made military equipment.
Also on Friday, the State Department announced $682 million in FMF for European countries to “help incentivize and backfill donations of military equipment to Ukraine.” The money for Ukraine and Ukraine-related aid is being pulled from funds that Congress has already authorized to spend on the war, which at this point is about $112 billion.
A Pentagon press release detailed the weapons included in the $2.85 billion presidential drawdown for Ukraine:
- 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles with 500 TOW anti-tank missiles and 250,000 rounds of 25mm ammunition
- 100 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers
- 55 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs)
- 138 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs)
- 18 155mm self-propelled Howitzers and 18 ammunition support vehicles
- 70,000 155mm artillery rounds
- 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds
- 1,200 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems
- 36 105mm towed Howitzers and 95,000 105mm artillery rounds
- 10,000 120mm mortar rounds
- Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
- RIM-7 missiles for air defense
- 4,000 Zuni aircraft rockets
- Approximately 2,000 anti-armor rockets
- Sniper rifles, machine guns, and ammunition for grenade launchers and small arms
- Claymore anti-personnel munitions
- Night vision devices and optics
- Spare parts and other field equipment
Providing Bradley Fighting Vehicles marks a significant escalation in US military aid. The vehicles are designed to transport infantry troops with armored protection and are armed with a 25mm gun. Germany and France have pledged similar armored vehicles, but Ukraine has still not received the head Western-made tanks that it seeks.
It is not “new,” nor is it “additional.” Antiwar.com continues to insist on following the MSM’s inaccurate hyping of each already approved “drawdown” as “new.” Just as it continues to ape the MSM in trumpeting every trivial, one off, strategically and tactically insignificant, “victory” by the Kiev regime. Perhaps the folks who run this site think they are doing the right thing, highlighting the extent of US involvement in this immoral and unjust war, but, IMO, they are instead playing right into the hands of the MIC. By repeating and front paging these “stories,” Antiwar.com is merely amplifying the MIC’s notion that the Ukraine is “winning.” Which serves to bolster, not undermine, support for the war.
Very interesting perspective.
I don’t believe they promote mainstream propaganda narratives. It’s easy for anyone to see MS propaganda BS just by paying attention to little things, like spelling of Ukrainian capital. Very useful delimiter. There are also other, more subtle clues and not just within confines of MS propaganda machine.
To me it looks like Antiwar does a little bit of gaslighting/trolling to keep people involved. Nothing wrong with that. You got to keep your audience interested and participating.
“is merely amplifying the MIC’s notion that the Ukraine is winning” – whether Ukraine (NATO) winning or not, one can see by the shifting frontline. If the frontline is shifting westward, it means the invested money are wasted. I think it is good to talk about the useless waste of budget money anyway.
So you would think, but each ship sunk, each airplane damaged, each and every trivial attack behind the lines, and each “new” and “additional” “round” of spending “package” is what drives the Western public’s understanding of the war. They (from the right to the left, and the center) truly believe the Ukraine is “winning,” and are thus on board for more spending.
About 4 months ago, Ukrainian (NATO) army captured Kherson and before that, it captured quite a big piece of territory in Kharkov region. Of course, it should produce impression that Ukrainian army is winning.
At the moment, it looks, Ukrainian (NATO) army has a difficult time in Bakhmut and Soledar, but so far, Russian advance isn’t great over there. So we watch and see what happens next.
RE “captured.” One city. Which it can’t occupy.
Russia can’t occupy it either. Kherson region is recognized by Russia as a part of Russian Federation. Russia can’t finish the war before, at least, those four new regions of Russian Federation are completely under Russian control.
And two of them never will be.
These stories highlight the weakness of the US, not its strength.
These packages have too little equipment . Absolutely nothing is a game changer in any way.
Russia gained about 20% of Ukraine in year 2022, and it seems likely that more gains will happen in 2023.
When Thomas Knapp described how little effect the Bradleys would have – oh they will definitely help locally for a while – it reinforced the idea that we really are in it to sacrifice Ukraine for the purpose of stalemating the Russians and depleting their military stock.
I did not want to believe that our stated primary goal was the real intention.
“These stories highlight the weakness of the US” – it depends upon the outcome of this war. If US will be able to push Russian army out of Donbass (which is highly unlikely), then those stories could highlight American greatness. Otherwise it definitely works against American image. Particular if Russia will take this year more territories.
i think that we need to differentiate between the USA in general and the MIC in particular, because if we can’t then we have much bigger problems than the ukraine issue
I think that is a good point PN.
Fair enough. I am not sure what a proper way to phrase these types of comments would be.
sorry, i wasn’t trying to be a dick
“Antiwar.com continues to report news that I DON’T WANT TO HEARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.”
Fixed, no charge.
Start charging people , Thomas. It’d be a nice source of income 😉
It isn’t “news” at all.
If it ain’t “new” (and, it isn’t), then it ain’t news.
It’s not about demoralizing pro-Russia people or supporting Ukraine. Sometimes you just have to look at facts on the ground. The US is playing dirty and using only the language of force- they have no morals and don’t abide to ceasefires.
This is a massive bipartisan PR war and Europe is pretty much subservient to the US. The weapons companies are making a killing from this war- literally. The US is going for broke. It would be an absolute miracle at this point if Russia managed to pull out a victory and drive NATO out of Ukraine. They have the entire West against them. They have suffered lots of casualties. Ukraine is in shambles.
Putin not long ago gave a warning if the US supplied Kiev weapons like this. He stated he will destroy bridges, railroads and etc if it happens.
If the Russians could, can you give a good reason that they have not already done so – destroying bridges and railroads in Ukraine that deliver weapons and troops to the front is a legitimate military target, supposedly the Russians do not want to occupy most of Ukraine west of the Dniepro – so why have they not made resisting so much more difficult for the Ukrainians?
Throw more gasoline on the fire!
The Russian MOD is fighting a very successful war of attrition disarming NATO (Ukraine was disarmed in March,), tank by tank, artillery by artillery, air defense by air defense.
NATO overall has accumulated the following equipment losses;
360 Aircraft, 199 helicopters, 2843 UAV’s, 400 Anti Aircraft systems, 7441 tanks inc. APC’s, 972 multiple rocket launchers, 3787 rocket launchers and 7957 military automotive equipment.
In March 2022 Ukraine reached the Istanbul peace agreement and Russia withdrew its forces from Kiev. Boris Johnson intervened and promoted a NATO solution to the Russian problem. And here we are today with Poland calling up 200,000 reserves, Ukraine is collapsing and Poland/Romania are now being called up to die for empire. What the empire looses in the Ukraine, they loose for the final NATO war against Russia.
In the past year we have seen the Rules Based Order (NATO) act in a state of criminal insanity. They blew up the Nord Stream Pipeline which will deindustrialise Europe. The shelling the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Station in an effort to cause a nuclear accident. The planning of a false flag nuclear weapon detonation on their own soil!!! This is the actions of criminally insane psychopaths.
Well said DS, well said and this situation gravely concerns me…
NATO continues to escalate in a very desperate way, its very concerning. Russia will achieve its goals, disarm and denazification, no matter how much NATO throws into Ukraine. That is the point of my Russian MOD updates, to show how much NATO is being disarmed.
What NATO is doing is the definition of evil.
We appreciate all of your efforts DS.
Thank you.
The industrial capacity of NATO is much greater than one of Russia. The only way to disarm NATO is to nuke it, which Russia can do only in a really extreme situation.
For the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine, it is necessary to occupy all Ukrainian territory or, at least, take under control all the borders, which is hardly achievable with the currently employed half million troops. Putin said in December they don’t plan any soon a new mobilization. It looks, maximum what Russia can do in following months, is to take under control the rest of pro-Russian regions (four of them are still under Kiev regime occupation).
Russia cannot nuke NATO without being obliterated.
I don’t think US or UK will start a suicidal attack against Russia in case if Russia nukes, for example, Poland.
Only an insane person would test that hypothesis. Unfortunately, the face of defeat seems to have unhinged Putin.
Insane persons pushed NATO to Russian border. Now they have the consequences.
On February 22nd Putin said that Ukrainians and Russians are “one people.” (False).
He also said the goal of the invasion (a/k/a “SMO”) was to de-Nazify, demilitarize and neutralize Ukraine. Russian leaders insisted that this would be accomplished without the use of conscripts or a draft. You now admit above that these goals cannot be accomplished with 500,000 troops. So the failure of the invasion is manifest. The only options left for Russia are holocaust level genocide or retreat. Either way, the war was a mistake that has weakened Russia and devastated Ukraine.
“Russian leaders insisted that this would be accomplished without the use of conscript or draft” – where did you heard this? From CNN?
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-says-will-not-use-conscript-soldiers-ukraine-2022-03-07/
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/07/putin-says-will-not-send-conscripts-or-reservists-to-ukraine-a76812
The mobilization was among those who already served in army. They are not sending to Ukraine fresh conscripts.
False!
Russia grabbed anyone with a pulse regardless of military experience. It even sent elders and men unfit to serve.
Many from poor villages from Siberia. The rich kids from Moscow and Saint Pete are saved. Not sure if you know this but in Russia anyone with money can bribe their way out of anything.
You are lying.
Nonsense. It is the Ukraine that is forbidding the old grandpas from leaving the country, giving them 2 weeks training, and sending them into the front lines.
Because Russia never lies, only the West does.
https://www.irishsun.com/news/272541939/reports-of-russian-full-mobilization-false-moscow
Only Russia has plenty of gold and oil to purchase weapons from China,North Korea, and Iran. The US is stripping itself of resources to fight China or anyone else in the next war.
They say Russia purchased some Iranian drones. Maybe it is true, but that was an emergency. Now Russia is making enough weapons of every kind.
Sure, US is also capable of producing every kind of conventional weapons and in huge quantity.
All of the German and American infantry fighting vehicles promised, taken together, would be enough to equip four infantry companies (20 each), as the infantry component of two mixed heavy battalions, plus a few command vehicles, or perhaps an AA manpad platoon for each.
Our cheering section needs numerical literacy, avoiding Krugman’s frequent complaint of “innumeracy” when reality does not add up to the fantasy suggestions.
Zelensky will be either dead or in exile soon.
How did we get here? Tracing failures of diplomacy back to their roots: From 1991 and beyond.
The final bill for expenditures in Ukraine may well exceed the $110 Billion wasted so far. The final bill could be an existential crisis for all humanity!
Diplomatic Colossal Failure of Century | Jeffrey Sachs & Oliver Stone
Excellent, thanks for posting, CT!
Thank you for posting this clip. I am aware of Sachs’ career but have not seen this. For anyone with a smattering of brain matter between their ears who hasn’t already swallowed the Kool-Aid being broadcast by the MSM and the Biden administration, this is one of the most coherent narratives on the genesis of this clusterfuck I’ve seen.
Thank you.
“Zelensky thanked President Biden”. Wrong, it is the US taxpayer who owes the thanks.
Who weren’t able to vote for or against.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/stirring-the-pot-for-war/
Stirring The Pot For War.
Israel is now burning in jealousy…!
The Russian MOD is fighting a very successful war of attrition disarming NATO (Ukraine was disarmed in March,), tank by tank, artillery by artillery, air defense by air defense.
NATO overall has accumulated the following equipment losses;
367 Aircraft, 200 helicopters, 2856 UAV’s, 400 Anti Aircraft systems, 7460 tanks inc. APC’s, 972 multiple rocket launchers, 3793 rocket launchers and 7978 military automotive equipment.
In March 2022 Ukraine reached the Istanbul peace agreement and Russia withdrew its forces from Kiev. Boris Johnson intervened and promoted a NATO solution to the Russian problem. And here we are today with Poland calling up 200,000 reserves, Ukraine is collapsing and Poland/Romania are now being called up to die for empire. What the empire looses in the Ukraine, they loose for the final NATO war against Russia.
In the past year we have seen the Rules Based Order (NATO) act in a state of criminal insanity. They blew up the Nord Stream Pipeline which will deindustrialise Europe. The shelling the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Station in an effort to cause a nuclear accident. The planning of a false flag nuclear weapon detonation on their own soil!!! This is the actions of criminally insane psychopaths.
Well, hell, I’d thank anybody who sent that kind of cash to me, too.
Doesn’t mean ZelBoy deserved it any more than I do.
Same crap different millennium.
Hey robotic imbecile, I edited sh*t to crap….
According to the Kyiv Independent, the Russian attack on Soledar, a city near Bakmut, has been partially successful.
It seems like the war is repeating Feb -> Summer of last year when Russia made small gains each day. Russian sources argue that there are still fairly large defensive resources in each of these cities, so at worst for Ukraine one or both if these cities will be held for a while.
It is back to grind it out WWI tactics it seems
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev has stated that it’s not Ukraine that Russia is at war with now but all of NATO inside Ukraine.
“The events in Ukraine aren’t a clash between Moscow and Kiev. It’s a military confrontation of NATO, first of all the US and Britain, with Russia. Fearing a direct engagement, NATO instructors push Ukrainian men to certain death,” he said.
Yes, it is a military confrontation between NATO and Russia. But also it is a civil war in Ukraine which started in 2014. One may call it even a civil war in Big Russia. Bolshevik criminal gang divided Russia in several republics by cutting from Russia the territories historically populated by ethnic Russians. There would be no problems if those newly created independent states have normal relations with Russia and respect the human rights of Russian minority. US sponsored radical nationalism in all post-Soviet republics exactly for the purpose to create conflicts.