The Pentagon on Thursday announced another $400 million weapons package for Ukraine as Russia steps up attacks on critical infrastructure as winter approaches.
The new aid includes four Avenger air defense systems, missiles for HAWK air defense systems, ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems, artillery shells and hundreds of grenade launchers.
It comes a week after the Pentagon announced a separate $400 million package, bringing the total aid the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine to more than $19 billion.
FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian serviceman learns how to use a US-supplied M141 Bunker Defeat Munition weapon at a training camp in Ukraine’s Lviv region.
(Ukrainian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)
“When I was in Kyiv last week, I had the opportunity to consult directly with President Zelenskyy and his team on the ground what Ukraine needs to be in the strongest possible position on the battlefield,” the national security adviser said. of the White House, Jake Sullivan, at a press conference on Thursday.
“This increased air defense will be critical for Ukraine as Russia continues to use Iranian cruise missiles and drones to attack critical civilian infrastructure.”
IRANIAN TROOPS IN CRIMEA TRAINING RUSSIANS IN DRONE STRIKES AGAINST UKRAINE, WHITE HOUSE SAYS
Zelenskyy thanked the United States for the latest weapons package on Thursday.
“Together we are building an air shield to protect [Ukrainian] civilians,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “We are getting closer to victory over the aggressor!”
A fuse platform for 155mm projectiles, destined for Ukraine, rotates while being loaded onto a C-17 cargo plane, April 29, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE PHOTO: Military aid, delivered as part of US security assistance to Ukraine, is unloaded from a plane at Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine.
(REUTERS/Serhiy Takhmazov/File photo)
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The announcement also comes as some states continue to tabulate votes from Tuesday’s midterm elections, with Republicans likely closing in on a majority in the House.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who announced this week that he will run for House speaker, told Punchbowl News last month that Republicans would not “write a blank check to Ukraine” if the GOP controls the low camera. .
