Reuters: US to send new military aid package to Ukraine
On Tuesday, August 8, President Joe Biden's administration plans to announce allocating $200 million in new military aid to Ukraine.
Reuters reports that the Biden administration is beginning to distribute $6.2 billion in funds discovered after the Pentagon's accounting error overestimated the cost of billions in aid to Ukraine.
In May, the Pentagon announced it had mistakenly determined the cost of US military aid to be higher than warranted when staff used "replacement value" instead of "depreciated value" to count the billions of dollars of ammunition, missiles, and other equipment sent to Ukraine.
"Ukraine needs weaponry that can be shipped from US stocks in a matter of days or weeks to keep up its fight to repel Russia's invasion – the accounting error worked to Kyiv's benefit because more equipment can be sent," Reuters reports.
The release of these identified funds is significant because they are the last of the $25.5 billion previously approved by Congress that the administration can use to send military aid from US stockpiles in an emergency, US officials told Reuters.
The officials added that Washington is currently working on an additional budget request to continue aid to Kyiv. The $200 million announcement expected on Tuesday would be the first tranche of $6.2 billion previously allocated under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA).
This package will include demining equipment, TOW, AT4 anti-tank weapons, ammunition for Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, guided missiles for launching rocket systems (GMLRS), Javelin anti-tank missiles, and other equipment.
Background
The US Ministry of Defense announced another package of military aid worth $400 million to Ukraine.
The aid includes, among other things, additional ammunition for Patriot and NASAMS systems and HIMARS systems, Stinger anti-aircraft systems, Javelin anti-tank systems, 32 Stryker armored personnel carriers, 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells, as well as 120 mm and 60 mm mortar mines.
The package includes TOW missiles, Hornet unmanned aerial systems, Hydra-70 anti-aircraft missiles, "tactical air navigation systems," explosive munitions for overcoming obstacles, more than 28 million rounds of ammunition for small arms and grenades, night vision devices and thermal imaging systems, as well as spare parts and training ammunition.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, the total US military aid to Ukraine is already more than $43.7 billion.
The United States announced the previous military aid package to Ukraine for $800 million on July 7. It included cluster ammunition for the first time.
