The United States Defense Department announced it will provide Ukraine with an additional three hundred million dollars worth of military weapons and equipment as Kiev prepares for an anticipated spring counteroffensive against Russian forces.
“The Pentagon announced a $300 million arms package for Ukraine ahead of a long-promised spring offensive by Kiev’s forces. Ammunition shortages are reportedly plaguing the Ukrainian military, however, and the latest aid package will likely do little to alleviate the problem.
The package is the 37th tranche of military aid doled out to Ukraine by the U.S. since August of 2021. It brings to more than $35.7 billion the total amount of military aid doled out to Kiev by Washington since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began last February.
According to a statement from the Pentagon, the package includes ammunition for Ukraine’s American-provided HIMARS rocket artillery systems, 155mm howitzers and artillery rounds, mortar rounds, wire-guided missiles, shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles, and Hydra-70 rockets, most commonly fired from attack helicopters.
As of January, the U.S. no longer discloses how much of each ammunition type its arms packages include. Instead, the total number of each piece of equipment provided to date is noted on supplemental fact sheets enclosed with each statement from the Pentagon.
Ukraine was given more than half a million 155mm shells on March 20th, bringing the total number given since last February to 1.5 million. However, the package is the third tranche of arms announced since that date, and every fact sheet since has noted that Ukraine has received ‘over 1,500,000’ 155mm artillery rounds.
This pace of delivery falls dramatically short of the 356,400 rounds per month that Ukraine needs to fire its Western-provided guns at full capacity, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov.
Ukraine has been gearing up for an offensive against Russian forces for several months now, with President Vladimir Zelenskyy stating on Wednesday that the operation would begin ‘soon’.
Russia’s position on Western arms deliveries remains unchanged, with Kremlin officials repeatedly warning that, by arming Ukraine, Western nations have made themselves de-facto participants in the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated last month that no amount of foreign weapons would ‘influence the final outcome of the special operation’”. -RT
According to the Pentagon, the aid package to Ukraine included the following:
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.
• 155mm howitzers.
• 155mm artillery rounds.
• 120mm, 81mm and 60mm mortar rounds.
• Tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided missiles.
• AT-4 and Carl Gustaf anti-armor weapon systems.
• Hydra-70 aircraft rockets.
• Small arms and ammunition.
• Demolition munitions for obstacle clearing.
• Trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment.
• Testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair.
• Spare parts and other field equipment.
The three hundred million dollar package will transfer weapons directly from U.S. stocks and is the 37th such action since August of 2021.
If the Ukrainian counteroffensive proves unsuccessful, the Western coalition that has assisted Kiev with arms, training, and aid may well come to favor a negotiated settlement.
However, until then, Moscow has repeatedly warned additional military aid to Kiev will only serve to prolong the war and worsen the suffering of the Ukrainian people.
