US providing more HIMARS ammunition, anti-armor systems to Ukraine

Europe, News, US May 22, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States Department of Defense announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine to meet the country’s security and defense needs after President Biden’s meeting with Zelenskyy in Japan, on May 21, 2023.

The latest package mainly includes additional ammunition for U.S.-made HIMARS launchers, artillery rounds, anti-armor capabilities, and critical enablers for Ukraine.

According to the DoD statement, the latest authorization is the “Biden Administration’s thirty-eighth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021”.

The statement further added that the new package is valued at “up to $375 million that Ukraine is using on the battlefield to push back against Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression”.

U.S. Department of Defense listed the capabilities in the latest package:

•   Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
•   155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
•   Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
•   Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
•   Laser-guided rocket system munitions;
•   Demolition munitions;
•   Armored bridging systems;
•   Armored medical treatment vehicles;
•   Trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment;
•   Logistics support equipment;
•   Thermal imagery systems;
•   Spare parts and other field equipment.

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)}

So far, under the Biden Administration, the U.S. has committed more than $38 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including more than $37.3 billion since Russia began its unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Last year, the U.S. provided Ukraine with its most advanced High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), hundreds of armored vehicles, TOW weapons, multi-mission radars, and explosives.

In early May, Ukraine’s air force claimed to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using the newly acquired Patriot defense systems from the United States. Patriot is one of the most advanced air defense weapons and the U.S. plans to send additional air defense systems and munitions to Ukraine.

The United States is also closely working with its Allies and partners, particularly European states to provide Ukraine with additional capabilities to defend itself.