The United States is ready to help Ukraine militarily. As part of a security assistance package of $725 million, the US will provide munitions and military vehicles to Ukraine. The move was initiated to strengthen the country’s defense system against the Russian attacks, the Defense Department said on Friday.
The delivery of the weaponry would come after Russia launched missiles on busy Ukrainian cities this week. With this package, the US security assistance would come to more than $17.5 billion.
High-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs) and precision-guided artillery as well as medical supplies are part of the latest package, as said in a statement by the Defense Department.
The secretary of state has been given the authority to “order the drawdown of up to $725 million in defense products and services of the Department of Defense, including military education and training” to assist Ukraine, according to a statement from President Joe Biden.
Russia’s involvement in Ukraine has been referred to as a “special military operation.”
I have directed another drawdown of arms and equipment worth $725 million from @DeptofDefense inventories to Ukraine, our 23rd drawdown since August 2021. As Ukraine’s defenders push back Russia’s forces, the United States stands #UnitedWithUkraine.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 15, 2022
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that Ukraine is looking forward to the delivery of sophisticated anti-aircraft systems this month separately from Germany and US to aid the country in counter attacks against Russia and Kamikaze drones.
The military equipment will be shipped to Ukraine by the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA). The delivery will take place in the coming days. In the event of an emergency, it enables the United States to swiftly transfer defense products and services from inventories without seeking congressional authorization.
The United States has the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) to procure weapons from industry which it uses to fund weapons for Ukraine, including the sophisticated anti-aircraft NASAMS systems that are to be delivered in October. It does not use funds form the existing US weapons stocks.
