U.S. Army Spec. Franklin assigned to 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, pulls security on Forward Operating Base, Ruba, at National Training Center, Ft. Irwin, CA., Jan. 10, 2017. (U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Spandau/Released)
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday the Biden administration is expected to announce a new $500 million weapons package for Ukraine that includes several dozen combat vehicles, a senior official told Breaking Defense.
In addition detailing plans to pull dozens of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers from US stockpiles for Kyiv, the latest package is expected to consist of an unspecified number of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) rounds, Patriot munitions, artillery rounds, and ammunition, the official said. However, the official noted that this package will not include the longer-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for the HIMARS, a point of contention among observers.
That the vehicles are coming from US stocks suggests the aid will come via presidential drawdown authorities, the 41st time President Joe Biden has elected to use that power to quickly get weapons platforms and defense articles to Ukraine. Reuters first reported details of the new package.
The new vehicles come as Kyiv is striving to make gains in its much anticipated spring offensive, and on the heels of what appeared to be a brief armed uprising in Russia by the mercenary group Wagner.
The US has provided nearly $40 billion-worth of equipment to Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, including hundreds of armored vehicles and a Patriot battery.
Last week the Pentagon announced it had essentially discovered an extra $6.2 billion in presidential drawdown funds due to an accounting error related to how it had been evaluating equipment sent to Ukraine.
“We will continue to provide Ukraine with the urgent capabilities that it needs to meet this moment… as well as what it needs to keep itself secure for the long term from Russian aggression,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said while sitting between Ukraine’s defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark Milley earlier this month.
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