The new assist is aimed toward restocking ammunition for superior weapons programs utilized in Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
The United States will ship Ukraine an extra $725m package of weapons and different military assistance, the White House has mentioned, as Washington added to a flurry of assist bulletins from European allies this week amid Russia’s renewed missile assaults on Kyiv and different targets.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned in a press release on Friday that the help follows “in the wake of Russia’s brutal missile attacks on civilians across Ukraine”, and “the mounting evidence of atrocities by Russia’s forces”.
As Ukrainian “defenders push back Russia’s forces”, the US stands united with Ukraine, Blinken mentioned later in a tweet.
Washington’s latest military package consists of extra ammunition for HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) and brings the entire US military assistance to Ukraine to $18.3bn because the begin of Joe Biden’s administration, the Department of Defence mentioned in a separate assertion.
The US has despatched 20 HIMARS to Ukraine and has promised 18 extra that will be delivered within the coming years. HIMARS have confirmed to be a crucial weapon that has improved Ukraine’s capability to strike ammunition depots, bridges and different key targets that erode Russia’s capability to resupply troops.
I’ve directed one other drawdown of arms and gear price $725 million from @DeptofDefense inventories to Ukraine, our twenty third drawdown since August 2021. As Ukraine’s defenders push again Russia’s forces, the United States stands #UnitedWithUkraine.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 15, 2022
Officials mentioned the new US package is basically aimed toward restocking 1000’s of rounds of ammunition for the weapons programs Ukraine has been efficiently utilizing in its counteroffensive in opposition to Russia, because the war stretches into its eighth month.
Ukraine’s speedy wants proceed to be further air defences, the Department of Defense mentioned in a press release.
“The Russians have launched hundreds of rockets at the major Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian forces have had some success at shooting down the missiles, but they need more air defence capabilities,” the assertion mentioned.
A senior defence official instructed reporters on the Pentagon that Russia had fired greater than 80 missiles at Ukrainian targets throughout one latest 24-hour interval and that Ukrainian air defences have been capable of intercept about half of them.
The official, who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate the US evaluation of the war, mentioned that the intercepts use lots of ammunition as a result of it’s doubtless Ukrainians fired a couple of spherical at every incoming missile.
The US assist announcement caps a string of commitments from allies this week.
The United Kingdom mentioned final week it will present missiles for the superior NASAM (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) the Pentagon plans to ship to Ukraine. The UK is also sending a whole bunch of drones and 18 howitzer artillery weapons.
Germany has despatched the primary of 4 promised IRIS-T air defence programs; France pledged extra artillery, anti-aircraft programs and missiles; the Netherlands mentioned it will ship missiles and Canada is planning to ship winter gear, drone cameras and satellite tv for pc communications.
The commitments come as Russia has intensified its assaults, hitting the Kyiv area with kamikaze drones and firing missiles elsewhere at civilian targets, together with a hospital, a kindergarten and different buildings within the city of Nikopol, throughout the river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The assaults have been described as Russian revenge for the bombing of the strategic Kerch Bridge linking Russia with annexed Crimea. Kremlin war hawks have urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to escalate the bombing marketing campaign much more to punish Ukraine for the latest truck bomb assault on the bridge.
Ukraine has not claimed accountability for the assault.
Russia’s surge in missile strikes additionally represents an pressing effort by Moscow to regain its footing as Ukraine’s fierce counteroffensive has taken again cities and territory Russia had overrun within the earlier days of the war.
