The Biden Administration is sending up to $400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of munitions for advanced air defense systems and a variety of small Hornet surveillance drones, US officials said.
The announcement was made Monday as attacks in the war expanded to include targets in Moscow and Crimea.
The package includes a variety of munitions, from missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) to Stingers and Javelins.
The weapons are supplied through presidential authority, allowing the Pentagon to quickly withdraw items from its own stockpiles and deliver them to Ukraine, often within days.
Officials said the United States is also sending howitzer artillery munitions and 32 Stryker armored vehicles, along with demolition equipment, mortars, Hydra-70 rockets and 28 million small arms ammunition.
Hornets are small nanodrones that are primarily used to gather information. In the past, Ukraine has also received these weapons from other Western allies.
The officials asked not to be named because the aid package has not yet been announced.
In total, the US has provided more than $41 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The latest weapons package comes as a Ukrainian drone struck an ammunition depot in Russian-annexed Crimea, with Russia accusing Ukraine of launching a drone strike against Moscow.
Russian media reported that one of the drones crashed near the city center, not far from the imposing Defense Ministry building.
Ukrainian authorities did not immediately take responsibility for the attack, which was the second drone strike in the Russian capital this month.
Meanwhile, the Russian armed forces have launched new attacks against port infrastructure in southern Ukraine with explosive drones.
The attack was the latest in a series that damaged parts of the port last week. The Kremlin described the attacks as retaliation for last week’s Ukrainian attack on the crucial Kerch bridge linking Russia to Crimea.
Source: TSF
