Washington on Friday committed the largest defensive aid package to Ukraine yet after pledging $3 billion in additional security assistance as it seeks to change the “dynamics on the battlefield.”
The latest deployable package includes a variety of military combat vehicles such as 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 100 Armored Personnel Carriers, 55 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles and 138 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded with the Western allies to send tanks to his troops as the brutal ground war continues in Ukraine’s eastern regions, particularly Luhansk and Donetsk.
Ukrainian soldiers in a trench on the Vuhledar front in Donetsk Oblast, on January 5, 2023.
(Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
BIDEN CONSIDERS SENDING BRADLEY FIGHTING VEHICLES WHILE UKRAINE REQUESTS TANKS
Although the Bradley Fighting Vehicle is not technically classified as a tank, it is a tracked-propelled armored vehicle, equipped with a free-spinning turret and has mounted firepower, and according to US defense officials it could be used with great effect in Ukraine.
“This is the right time for us to provide this armored capability. This is the right time for Ukraine to leverage its capabilities to change the dynamics on the battlefield,” said Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. she told reporters.
The main difference between the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the US M1 Abrams tank is its lighter armor and gun capacity.
Tanks, while containing heavier armor and longer-range firepower, carry fewer troops on the battlefield and are less easy to maneuver.
Cooper acknowledged that Ukraine still needs tanks, but argued that Kyiv needs to be able to maintain the expensive equipment in order for it to be used effectively.
“We absolutely agree that Ukraine needs tanks,” Cooper told reporters. “We have to be aware of the maintenance and sustainment considerations with tanks. And certainly, we know that the Abrams tank, in addition to being a huge gas guzzler, is quite difficult to maintain.”
The defense official said it will take a couple of months to get the Bradley vehicles operational in the field and for Ukrainian forces to train on the equipment.
U.S. Army Soldiers from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, provide security around a local town during the Decisive Action Rotation 15-05 at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif., March 3, 2015. Decisive Action Rotations target an adaptable enemy in a complex environment.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Probst/Released)
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About a battalion’s worth of troops, some 500 soldiers will be trained at a time over the course of a month.
Another 18 howitzers and 18 “munitions support vehicles” are also included in the latest package, which marks the 29th reduction the United States has withdrawn from its stockpiles for Ukraine.
Hundreds of thousands of various forms of ammunition, artillery, and mortar shells were also approved, along with more air defense systems, air rockets, anti-armor rockets.
Sniper rifles, machine guns, ammunition for grenade launchers and small arms will also arrive from the United States to the Ukrainian front.
“Today’s announcement, the largest security assistance package in total value that we have committed to so far, reflects our longstanding commitment to supporting Ukraine,” Cooper said.
Last month, the US pledged to send a Patriot surface-to-air missile system to assist Ukraine’s air defenses, an announcement that came as Russia continually bombarded Ukraine’s cities and energy infrastructure in air campaigns before of Christmas.
France became the first nation to commit to sending tanks to Ukraine earlier this month and on Thursday Germany said it would send armored personnel carriers and a Patriot air defense missile battery system.
Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at the Pisky Front in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on January 6, 2023.
(Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A Patriot battery includes up to eight launchers, each of which can hold four missiles, according to the Associated Press.
The entire system reportedly requires approximately 90 soldiers to operate and maintain, as it includes a sophisticated radar and control station, along with computers and generators, although only three soldiers are actually needed to fire the system.
The Patriot missile system is the most advanced form of air defense the West has so far committed to Ukraine.
