OAN’s Roy Francis
8:10 AM – Wednesday, June 28, 2023
The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that another $500 million package, which includes armored vehicles and ammunition, is being prepared to be sent to Ukraine.
According to the Biden administration, the newest aid package is aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s military capabilities during its counteroffensive against Russia, which is moving slower than expected in its early stages.
The package includes 30 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 25 armored Stryker vehicles, along with missiles for the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Patriot air defense systems. The package also includes Javelin and high-speed anti-radiation (HARM) missiles, demolition munitions, obstacle-clearing equipment, artillery rounds, and more than 22 million rounds of small arms ammunition.
The package marks the 41st time that the United States has provided military aid to Ukraine using the presidential drawdown since the war began in 2022. The presidential drawdown program allows the president to transfer items and services from U.S. stocks and divert them to Ukraine without congressional approval during emergency situations.
The new package is meant to strengthen the new counteroffensive that Ukraine is launching in an effort to take back territory that had been taken by Russia. The White House said that the new package includes “key capabilities” which are critical in aiding Ukraine’s counteroffensive operations and air defense systems.
“[The aid] includes key capabilities to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive operations … as well as additional armored vehicles, anti-armor systems, critical munitions, and other equipment to help Ukraine push back on Russia’s war of aggression,” the statement said.
According to the Pentagon, the U.S. has already delivered more than $15 billion in weapons and equipment from its own stocks to Ukraine since February 2022. The U.S. has also already committed another $6.2 billion in aid, although the exact supplies and details of that package are still unknown.
The White House said that the extra $6.2 billion is the result of military accounting errors due to overestimation of the value of equipment and weapons that had been sent to Ukraine over the past year.
The Biden administration has also promised more than $16.7 billion through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative in long term funding to Ukraine for various weapons, training, and other equipment.
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