US approves $200 million military aid package for Ukraine

Europe, News, US August 16, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

United States Department of Defense announced its latest security assistance package for Ukraine. The military package, valued at $200 million, was announced by the Pentagon on August 14, 2023.

The package includes critical munitions for U.S.-provided Patriot air defense systems and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, among other items.

The U.S. officials said that the additional security assistance package is the first installment of a $6.2 billion aid package that has been approved under the presidential drawdown authority guaranteeing the speedy delivery of existing Pentagon stockpiles to Ukraine.

The latest military package includes the following equipment,

Additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems
Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
Mine clearing equipment and systems;
155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
120mm tank ammunition;
Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
Javelin and other anti-armor systems and rockets;
37 tactical vehicles to tow and haul equipment;
58 water trailers;
Over 12 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades;
Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing; and
Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.

Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, Douglas R. Bush, said last week that the U.S. is currently producing new artillery rounds at a rate of 24,000 per month and is on track to produce in excess of 80,000 rounds per month over the following year.

Ukraine support package — ^{Pallets containing ammunition, explosives, and other supplies bound for Ukraine are loaded onboard an aircraft during a foreign military sales mission at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, March 20, 2022. (Image Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Marco A. Gomez)}

“The U.S. Army is committed to and will succeed at maintaining our stocks sufficient for training and readiness of the U.S. Army, while also supporting our ally, Ukraine, with what they need, working as part of an international team to make sure that happens,” Bush said. He added that, throughout the war, U.S. equipment has remained highly effective in combat.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary Bush added, “That’s the result of decades of work by thousands of people to make sure our equipment is tested well and also that our industry partners produce it, critically, at a high level of quality.” Bush said, “Lots of countries can produce. The United States produces the best in terms of quality. I think we are seeing that, and I think that speaks well of our industry partners.”

U.S. ramps up support for Ukraine

Washington has paced up its support for Kyiv following Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Last month, the Biden administration announced a separate $1.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

“Russia started this war and could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks. “Until it does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement as he announced the additional assistance package.

Washington has committed more than $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. That assistance includes more than 2,000 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, more than 10,000 Javelin anti-armor systems, and more than 2 million 155-mm artillery rounds, among other items.