Washington [US], November 20 (ANI): The US Department of Defence (DoD) on November 20, announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defence needs.
The USD 275 million worth of assistance consists of the 70th tranche of military aid to Ukraine, which the Biden Administration has provided to Ukraine from DoD stockpiles since August 2021, includes ammunition for HIMARS, artillery, anti-tank systems, UAVs, and other equipment the Pentagon said in a statement.
“This Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package, which has an estimated value of USD 275 million, will provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including munitions for rocket systems and artillery and anti-tank weapons,” it said.
The capabilities included in the package include ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition; 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds; Unmanned Aerial Systems; Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; Small arms and ammunition; Demolitions equipment and munitions; chemical biological, radiological, nuclear protective equipment; and spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation.
“The United States will continue to work together with some 50 Allies and partners through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and its associated Capability Coalitions to meet Ukraine’s urgently needed battlefield requirements and defend against Russian aggression,” as per the Department of Defence statement.
In an earlier report Fox News had reported that once the announcement on the weapons package is made, the US will have a remaining USD 6.9 billion in PDA funding and USD2.21 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funding for Ukraine.
As per the DoD, The United States has committed more than USD 61.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including approximately USD 60.7 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked and brutal invasion on February 24, 2022.
The Biden administration has approved supplying Ukraine with American anti-personnel mines to bolster defences against Russian attacks, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Wednesday in Laos, as per the New York Times.
Austin as pert the NYT, said the US decision was prompted by Russia’s increasing reliance on foot soldiers to lead their assaults, instead of armoured vehicles. Speaking to reporters in Laos he said the shift in policy follows changing tactics by the Russians. Because of that, Ukraine has “a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians,” Austin was cited by the NYT.
Last month, the US provided Ukraine with an additional USD 425 million in supplies and weapons using PDA money to help Ukraine meet its most urgent needs at the time in terms of air defense, air-to-ground weapons, rocket systems, artillery munitions, armoured vehicles and anti-tank weapons.
This comes after US President Biden Ukraine to use American long-range missiles on Russian soil, Fox News reported.
Russia on Tuesday reported that Ukrainian forces fired six US-produced ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region, with five being shot down by S-400 and Pantsir AA systems, and one causing a fire after its fragments fell in the technical zone of a military facility.
The Russian Defence Ministry said yesterday that it defeated a Ukrainian ATACMS attack in the western Bryansk region.
Sharing a post on X, the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote, “Russia’s Defence Ministry: At 3.25 am, Ukrainian forces fired 6 US-produced ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region.”
“Five missiles were shot down by S-400 and Pantsir AA systems, one was damaged, its fragments fell in the technical zone of a military facility, causing a fire,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a press breifing also spoke about the Ukrainian attack on Bryansk and said, “ATACAMS are being used against Bryansk Oblast of Russia. [The missiles] cannot be used without American experts and specialists. We will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and will react accordingly.”
US Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh in a briefing on November 19 said that Russia escalated the war with Ukraine by bringing in more than 11,000 soldiers from North Korea, to fight alongside Russian soldiers in the Kursk region.
She also said the Biden administration has a commitment to continue arming Ukraine with what it needs on the battlefield.
“We don’t see that as escalatory,” Singh said. “We see that as a commitment that we set out from the very beginning of this administration.” (ANI)
