The United States will provide Ukraine with an additional $182 million ($200 million) in arms and ammunition to support the Ukrainian counter-offensive, which has faced significant obstacles in countering Russian defenses, US government sources said Wednesday.
The latest military aid package includes missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Systems (Himars) and the Patriot air defense system, as well as grenades for howitzers and tanks, Javelin missiles, mine-clearing equipment, 12 million rounds of small arms ammunition and demolition ammunition. said a US official, who spoke to the Associated Press (AP) agency on condition of anonymity.
The administration led by Joe Biden is expected to ask Congress for the new additional aid package to maintain support for Kiev.
Ukraine has received more than $43 billion from the US since Russia invaded the country last year.
These funds made it possible to provide weapons systems and millions of ammunition to fight the Russian army.
The Biden administration is funding Ukraine’s war effort through two programs, one drawing weapons from existing US stockpiles, while the other, Ukraine Security Assistance (USAI), is funding long-term contracts for larger weapon systems, such as tanks to be built. or modified by defense contractors.
Both loans are guaranteed until the end of the financial year, September 30.
“We are confident that we can continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs on the battlefield,” deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday.
Ukrainian troops on Wednesday claimed to have reached Russia’s first line of defense on the southern front as part of the counter-offensive seeking to reach the coast and isolate the Moscow-held Crimean peninsula.
The deputy commander of the Ukrainian forces in the south of the country, Serguí Kuzmin, stressed that his troops were advancing several hundred meters near the strategic village of Robotyne, in the heart of the Zaporijia region.
“We have arrived at the front line of the occupiers. The front line is very difficult, but our soldiers are advancing,” he assured Ukrainska Pravda daily, quoted by the Efe news agency.
Kuzmin stressed that these operations are targeting the city of Melitopol, whose capture would open the way for the Ukrainians to reach the Sea of Azov.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia to impose political and economic sanctions.
Source: DN
