The US will send $1 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine, the largest withdrawal of equipment since the start of the war.
The latest package will include additional ammunition for highly mobile artillery missile systems (Himars), tens of thousands of artillery and mortar rounds, anti-armor systems and armored medical vehicles.
Including this package, the US has already provided approximately $9.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since President Joe Biden took office.
The new US aid comes as Kyiv prepares to launch a new offensive in the south, where it hopes to retake the city of Kherson and end Russia’s use of the Dnieper River as a natural barrier.
“The United States is with allies and partners from more than 50 countries in providing vital security assistance to support Ukraine’s defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian aggression,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement.
“As this war continues, the courage and strength of the Ukrainian army and its people become even more evident and even more extraordinary. Together, we will continue to consult closely with Ukraine and increase additional available systems and capabilities carefully calibrated to make a difference on the battlefield and strengthen Ukraine’s eventual position at the negotiating table,” he added.
Separately on Monday, the US Agency for International Development announced it would provide an additional $4.5 billion to the Ukrainian government to cover part of the budget deficit. The Ukrainian government will receive the first tranche of $3 billion in new funds in August. Once dispersed, the US will have provided $8.5 billion in direct budget support to Kyiv.
The latest package will include additional ammunition for highly mobile artillery rocket systems, or Himars © EyePress News/Shutterstock
Ukrainian forces have already regained some territory in the southern regions in recent months. However, neither side has gained much ground in a war of attrition that has turned into bloody artillery duels, both in the south and in the Far Eastern region of Donbass, as Russian forces failed to capture the capital Kyiv early on of the invasion.
Colin Kahl, the US undersecretary of defense for policy, said Moscow had recently reported some “incremental gains” in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas, but at a high cost to the Russian military, which is reporting high casualties. This is a result of “how well the Ukrainian military performed and all the help the Ukrainian military received,” he said.
“Now the conditions in the east have since stabilized and the focus is really shifting to the south, and in part that’s because the Ukrainians are starting to put some pressure on the south and the Russians have been forced to redeploy their forces down there,” he added.
Kahl said the Russians took a “massive number” of casualties: “I think it’s safe to assume that the Russians took probably 70,000-80,000 casualties who were killed and wounded.”
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Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the West must provide much more artillery and longer-range missiles, as well as tanks and aircraft, for Ukraine to retake Kherson.
“We need to significantly increase the number of multiple launch missile systems, Himars or M270,” Podoliak said in an interview before the US announcement. “If today we have 20-30, then there must be 80-100 to be effective.”
“Otherwise it will be a protracted war. . . it will be an expensive war,” he added.
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