US to provide Ukraine with up to $250m in arms and equipment
The US will provide Ukraine with up to $250m in arms and equipment, including air defense munitions and artillery ammunition, the US has announced.
The package of arms announced on Wednesday includes Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, additional Himars ammunition, javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems as well as artillery and small arms ammunition.
In a statement, the US Department of Defense (DoD) said: “These capabilities will support Ukraine’s most pressing needs to enable its forces to defend their sovereignty and independence. US leadership is essential to sustaining the coalition efforts of some 50 allies and partners currently supporting Ukraine. Security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security.”
The latest assistance was made using the presidential drawdown authority, which allows for the speedy delivery of DoD stocks to foreign countries.
It comes after Joe Biden announced another $200m military aid package earlier in December amid concerns that the war had reached a stalemate and amid growing Republican opposition to renewing a larger $61bn of aid.
Critics of continued financial support for Ukraine have grown louder on Capitol Hill in recent months and include senior Republicans who have insisted on White House concessions on border security as a condition for a deal.
The latest assistance was made using the presidential drawdown authority, which allows for the speedy delivery of DoD stocks to foreign countries.
It comes after Joe Biden announced another $200m military aid package earlier in December amid concerns that the war had reached a stalemate and growing Republican opposition to renewing a larger $61bn of aid.
Both Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are struggling to make much progress along the frontline of the 22-month war.
And US critics of continued financial support for Ukraine have grown louder on Capitol Hill in recent months. They include senior Republicans who have insisted on White House concessions on border security as a condition for a deal.
As continued weapons supplies looked uncertain, Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries said on Wednesday that Kyiv was working to increase its own weapons manufacturing in 2024.
Oleksandr Kamyshin told a briefing Ukraine was producing six Bohdana self-propelled artillery units a month. Bohdanas are the only Ukrainian-produced self-propelled gun using Nato-standard 155mm rounds, making it a strategically important weapon for Kyiv.
Kamyshin also said the country next year aims to produce up to 1,000 long-range strike drones, which have a range of about 1,000km (620 miles), 10,000 middle-range and 1,000 long-range strike drones.
His words came as Russia fired almost 50 Shahed drones at targets in Ukraine on Wednesday and shelled a train station where more than 100 civilians were gathered to evacuate.
Ukrainian officials said the barrages killed at least six people and knocked out power in most of the southern city of Kherson.