WASHINGTON: The United States plans to announce as soon as Tuesday (Jul 25) a new military aid package for Ukraine worth up to US$400 million, primarily comprised of artillery, air defense missiles and ground vehicles as Ukraine’s counteroffensive grinds on, three US officials said on Friday.
The US is not including cluster munitions in this weapons assistance package, two of the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said. The US first sent dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) – a cluster munition fired from a 155 millimeter Howitzer cannon to Ukraine earlier in July.
Included in the package are several Stryker armored personnel carriers, mine clearing equipment, munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), anti-tank weapons including TOW and Javelin and munitions for Patriot and Stinger anti-aircraft systems, according to the officials.
The package was still being finalised and could change.
The package would be funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, which authorizes the president to transfer articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. The material will come from US excess inventory.
The security assistance package would be the 43rd approved by the United States for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, for a total of more than US$41 billion.
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