Dec. 2 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Defense on Monday announced a $725 million security assistance package for Ukraine in its war against invading Russia.
The assistance includes artillery, rockets and air defense capabilities.
In a statement from the White House, administration officials said the assistance is part of the surge in security assistance that President Joe Biden announced on September 26 to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position against Russian invaders.
Monday’s announcement was the Biden administration’s seventy-first tranche of equipment to be provided from Department of Defense inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
In a release announcing the effort, administration officials said, “This Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package, which has an estimated value of $725 million, will provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including: air defense capabilities; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; and anti-tank weapons.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the move will give Ukraine the capability needed to defend itself.
“The president has directed the Department of Defense to deliver the materiel to Ukraine rapidly — to ensure that Ukraine has the equipment it needs to defend itself,” Sullivan said. “Between now and mid-January, we will deliver hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of additional rockets, and other critical capabilities to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence.”
Sullivan said that to help Ukraine stabilize its lines in the east, Biden authorized a provision of non-persistent anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine “as a limited exception to the administration’s continuing landmine policy.”
Also, in response to the use of North Korean soldiers in the war against Ukraine, Sullivan said Biden decided to adjust permissions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided long-range missiles.
Additionally, he said, the United States has implemented major sanctions against Russia’s financial sector, “with more sanctions to follow.”
The capabilities in this drawdown announcement include:
- Munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)
- Stinger missiles
- Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) munitions
- Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
- 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition
- Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
- Non-persistent land mines
- Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems
- Small arms and ammunition
- Demolitions equipment and munitions
- Equipment to protect critical national infrastructure
- Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation
“The United States will continue to work together with some 50 Allies and partners through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and its associated Capability Coalitions to meet Ukraine’s urgently needed battlefield requirements and defend against Russian aggression,” administration officials said in making the announcement.