US to provide Ukraine with $400 million worth of military equipment

Europe, News, US March 5, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States Department of Defense officials announced $400 million worth of military equipment for Ukraine to support its defense against the Russian invasion. The latest security assistance package includes ammunition and support equipment to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs.

The Department of Defense officials announced that the U.S. will provide “additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, additional 105 mm and 155 mm artillery rounds, and additional 25 mm ammunition”.

According to the DoD release, the latest package includes “armored vehicle-launched bridges”. The statement highlighted that “These vehicles are designed to accompany armored columns and give them the ability to cross rivers, streams, ditches, and trenches. The bridges are carried on the chassis of armored vehicles and launched at river or stream banks. Once the crossing is finished, the vehicle can pick up the bridge on the far bank and carry on”.

The military aid for Ukraine also includes: “demolition munitions and equipment for obstacle clearing”, which will help the “Ukrainians sustain their forces in combat”, the statement added. The U.S. will also send testing and diagnostic equipment to Ukraine “to support vehicle maintenance and repair, as well as spare parts and other field equipment”.

The latest security package marks the 33rd time the U.S. Administration has invoked the drawdown authority for Ukraine. The United States has sent over $30 billion worth of military equipment to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

The United States has provided Ukraine with several critical military equipments that changed the course of the Russia-Ukraine war. The U.S. has already sent Javelins anti-armor systems and Stinger air defense weapons, howitzers and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition, and Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems.

*^{HIMARS missile system in Poland. (Image Credit: U.S. Army/Markus Rauchenberger)}*

The U.S. Administration also pledged to send a Patriot air defense battery and 31 M1A2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. The Department of Defense said in a statement that so far, “more than 54 countries from around the world have pledged more than 1,000 tanks and other armored vehicles”.

The DoD statement highlighted that the U.S. and its allies have “delivered or pledged more than 800 artillery systems, and they’ve delivered more than 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition and more than 50 advanced Multiple Rocket Launch Systems”.