The White House announced on Wednesday that the United States is sending another $400 million in ammunition and generators to Ukraine.
The country is also removing the equipment from its stockpiles to expedite the delivery of the supplies to Kyiv as Russia continues to target Ukraine’s energy sources and winter approaches.
Since Russia’s incursion on February 24th, the U.S. has given Ukraine more than $19 billion in guns and other equipment, including the most recent assistance.
Through the use of presidential drawdown authority, the Pentagon will be able to immediately transfer weapons to Ukraine from its inventories as part of the new aid package.
According to the Pentagon, the most recent shipment includes, among other things, 200 generators, an undisclosed number of extra rounds for the advanced NASAMS air defense systems and the HIMARS artillery systems that the United States has sent to Ukraine, 150 heavy machine guns with thermal sights to shoot down drones, 10,000 120mm mortar rounds, and an additional 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition.
The protracted conflict in Ukraine, now in its ninth month, has seen both sides fire hundreds of rounds of ordnance daily, ranging from small-arms ammunition to truck-sized cruise missiles.
The U.S. has sent Ukraine 104 million rounds of small weapons ammunition, a testament to how fierce the ground combat has been.
In light of Russia’s relentless and ruthless missile and (drone) attacks on Ukraine’s vital energy infrastructure, the Pentagon declared that developing new air defense capabilities remained a top priority.
“The extra ammunition for NASAMS and heavy machine guns will aid Ukraine in fending off these pressing threats,”
However, the continuous delivery of weapons to Kyiv raises concerns about how long the United States and its allies can sustain the conflict before their military readiness suffers.
Many European countries have already stated that they have sent all of the extra that they can.
Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, visited Brussels this week to talk with 45 partner countries about some of Ukraine’s top objectives, such as more long-range weapons and air defense systems.
The Pentagon said in a statement that they talked about coordinating efforts to keep weapons flowing by identifying the capabilities of their unique military industrial bases and the supply chain and production constraints they face.
The Biden administration is attempting to pass an additional $37 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine during the post-election session of Congress before Republicans retake the House in January.
This influx of armaments coincides with their efforts. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., a potential speaker and a member of the Republican Party, has questioned the amount of money being spent.
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