US announces $2.5 billion in new military assistance for Ukraine, does not include tanks

Washington: The US will send 90 Stryker combat vehicles and an additional 59 Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine, in addition to hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, the Pentagon announced on Thursday. It is the latest aid package timed to help Ukraine push back against Russia’s entrenched forward lines.

“This assistance package will provide Ukraine with hundreds of additional armoured vehicles, including Stryker armoured personnel carriers, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled vehicles,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday.

The package also includes critical additional air defence support for Ukraine, including more Avenger air defence systems, and surface-to-air missiles, as well as additional munitions for NASAMS that the United States has previously provided, he said.

It also contains night vision devices, small arms and ammunition, and other items to support Ukraine as it bravely defends its people, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Blinken said in a statement.

The ammunition included in the package will replenish the US-supplied HIMARS rocket artillery systems, the NASAMS air defence systems, the Bradleys’ 25 mm cannon and hundreds of tow missiles for the Bradleys’ anti-tank weaponry. The package also includes eight additional Avenger air defence systems, 350 Humvees, 53 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPS, thousands of anti-armour rockets and an additional 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

“This package, which totals $2.5 billion, will bring the total US military assistance for Ukraine to an unprecedented approximately $27.5 billion since the beginning of the administration,” he said.

“The United States also continues to rally the world to support Ukraine. We have seen incredible solidarity from our allies and partners, including at today’s Ukraine Defence Contact Group, and we applaud the more than 50 countries who have come together to make significant contributions to support Ukraine,” he added.

The package, valued at $2.5 billion, does not include tanks, which has become a point of contention as Germany has indicated it will not send its own Leopard tanks to Ukraine unless the US sends the Abrams. The US has said that the Abrams tank, which is propelled by a complex turbine engine similar to an aircraft jet engine, would not be a good fit for the current fight because of its frequent maintenance and fueling needs.

The US is focused now on sending mechanized infantry support to help Kyiv’s forces break through new Russian defensive lines in the fierce ground battle in eastern Ukraine, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters Wednesday.

The more heavily armoured and tracked Bradleys and the medium-armoured Strykers will provide Ukraine “with two brigades of armoured capability,” the Pentagon said in a news release.

The Army operates more than 550 Strykers in a variety of configurations. The wheeled and armoured Stryker, being supplied to Ukraine for the first time, can be modified to provide medical evacuation or reconnaissance or serve as a nuclear, biological and chemical response vehicle, in addition to speeding infantry squadrons into a battle.

The two armoured vehicles serve different purposes. The Bradley brings more firepower, with its cannon and anti-tank missile launchers. Because it is wheeled, the more lightly armoured Stryker can move a lot faster on paved roads, meaning it can get infantry squadrons into the fight faster.

The other air defence systems and ammunition are being sent to help Ukraine defend against the onslaught of Russian missile attacks against its civilian population, the Pentagon said, including a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in Dnipro last weekend that left at least 45 dead, including children.

The $2.5 billion package is one of several recent multibillion-dollar announcements of aid for Ukraine as the US and allies rush heavy weapons to Kyiv in advance of an expected Russian spring offensive. The new aid package brings total US military assistance to Ukraine to $26.7 billion since Russia invaded in February.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Germany and will meet Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, representatives of about 50 countries that coordinate the weapons support.

In a separate statement, the Pentagon said the Kremlin’s most recent air attacks against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure again demonstrate the devastating impact of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine.

This package provides additional NASAMS munitions and Avenger air defence systems to help Ukraine counter a range of short and medium-range threats and bolster its layered air defence, it said.

“The 59 Bradley IFVs included in this package, together with the 50 Bradleys previously committed on January 6, and the 90 Stryker APCs will provide Ukraine with two brigades of armoured capability,” the Pentagon said.

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