U.S. Marines with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines fire the M777-A2 Howitzer down during Integrated Training Exercise 2-15 at the Blacktop Training Area aboard Camp Wilson, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California , January 31, 2015.
Lance Cpl. Aaron S Patterson | US Marine Corps
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is expected to announce another major security aid package for Ukraine this week, five US officials familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The package is expected to be about the same size as the $800 million military aid package President Joe Biden announced last week, three of those officials said.
Biden himself confirmed earlier in the day that the US will send more artillery to Ukraine. When asked if he plans to send more artillery to Ukraine, Biden paused and replied, “Yes.”
The United States has already supplied more than 50 million rounds of ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces. But with troops completing tens of thousands of rounds a day and more intense fighting expected in the coming weeks, there is an urgent need for additional assistance.
The need for more artillery was also raised Tuesday morning when Biden joined a safe conversation with more than half a dozen world leaders, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to explain the details of the upcoming weapons package during a Defense Department briefing, citing security concerns. Kirby said the composition of previous US security packages “came directly from several discussions with the Ukrainians.”
Among the weapons included in the $800 million security package announced April 13 were 18 howitzer artillery systems, the first known heavy artillery platforms of this caliber to be handed over to Ukrainian forces. The Pentagon also deployed 40,000 Army and Marine Corps artillery shells.
Kirby said U.S. soldiers would begin training a small number of Ukrainian troops on howitzers “in a short period of time.” Kirby added that the training will be conducted outside of Ukraine.
U.S. soldiers work on their vehicles at a temporary base near Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland, February 16, 2022.
Wojtek Radwanski | AFP | Getty Images
The next security package will be the eighth of its kind. It comes after US intelligence assessments suggested the Kremlin will soon focus its military might on eastern and southern Ukraine after weeks of stalling to reach the capital Kyiv.
Over the past seven weeks, Russian ground forces in Ukraine have faced a series of logistical problems on the battlefield, including reports of fuel and food shortages and frostbite.
The Pentagon was monitoring Russian forces conducting a limited offensive in southwest Donetsk and south of Izyum, a senior US defense official told reporters on Tuesday.
“We believe these offensives are a prelude to larger offensive operations that the Russians are planning,” said the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share new details from the Pentagon’s assessment of the war.
The official said the US expects to send another seven military planes to provide security support to Ukraine in the next 24 hours.
Since Moscow invaded on February 24, the Biden administration has deployed more than 100,000 US troops to NATO member states and approved $2.6 billion in security aid. According to the White House, the United States has given Ukraine a total of $3.2 billion since the Biden presidency began.
In the weeks immediately following the Russian invasion, Western allies tried to distinguish between “defensive” and “offensive” weapons, preferring to send anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine rather than providing more heavy artillery.
But as Russia’s tactics have become more brutal and civilians have become the targets of more likely war crimes, Western leaders have largely abandoned the defensive/offensive distinction. The shift is most evident on the battlefield, where increasing numbers of US- and European-made main battle tanks, howitzers and aircraft are being used by Ukrainian forces.