The Pentagon announced on Friday that it was sending Ukraine a new weapons package worth $425 million, which includes HIMARS ammunition, air defenses, artillery rounds, and other equipment.
The weapons are being provided under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the Biden administration to ship them straight from US military stockpiles. The package was announced around the same time Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov.
The new military aid comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is urging his Western backers to adopt his so-called “Victory Plan,” which calls for major escalations, including the provision of Tomahawk missiles. But there’s no sign the US and NATO are willing to take those steps. Despite the lack of a path toward a Ukrainian victory, the US continues to pour weapons into the conflict.
According to the Pentagon, the new weapons package includes:
- Munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)
- Stinger missiles
- Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) equipment and munitions
- Air-to-ground munitions
- Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
- 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition
- Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems
- Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers
- Small arms and ammunition
- Medical equipment
- Demolitions equipment and munitions
- Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation
The Pentagon also released a fact sheet that said the Biden administration has committed $60.4 billion in weapons for Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, 2022. Factoring in other types of assistance and all the Ukraine spending in the $95 billion foreign military aid bill President Biden signed into law back in April, the proxy war has cost US taxpayers at least $186 billion so far.
