The Defense Ministry on Friday announced a new $775 million military aid package for Ukraine as Russia’s unprovoked invasion of the country nears the six-month mark.
Why it matters: The package includes four additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 16 howitzers for heavy field artillery pieces and 36,000 rounds of ammunition, 15 surveillance drones and 40 mine-resistant troop transport vehicles.
- Ukraine will also receive 50 Humvee vehicles, 1,000 Javelins, 2,000 anti-tank missiles, mine clearance equipment and new communications systems, according to the Defense Ministry.
Using the numbers: It comes after the US announced a $550 million military aid package to Ukraine earlier this month.
- With the new package, the Biden administration will have pledged a total of $10.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
- It is the Ministry of Defense’s 19th military aid package for Ukraine since August 2021.
What you say: “As President Biden has made clear, we will support Ukraine in defending its democracy for as long as necessary,” the Defense Department said in a statement.
- “The United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities to meet Ukraine’s evolving battlefield needs,” she added.
The big picture: While Russia has made incremental territorial gains in Ukraine’s Donbass region in recent months, it currently appears to be on the defensive over the Kharkiv and Kherson blasts.
- HIMARS has allowed Ukraine to attack Russian military camps, command posts and other targets far behind the front lines.
- Russia has suffered material losses in Crimea after recent explosions hit several military installations, including the Saki airbase in south-west Crimea.
- The blasts, for which Ukraine has neither officially claimed nor denied responsibility, have major symbolic and strategic implications for Russia’s grip on the peninsula, reports Axios’ Dave Lawler.
- Russia is also facing increasing pressure from dozens of countries, the United Nations and other international organizations to withdraw its troops and military equipment from Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
go deeper: The latest on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine