U.S. Sends Ukraine $5.5B In New Govt, Military Aid

The Biden administration on Monday announced a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine, the largest installment yet since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in late February.

In a separate announcement, the US Agency for International Development said it would also provide an additional $4.5 billion to Ukraine’s government via the World Bank to help Kyiv assist the growing number of poor Ukrainians and millions of internally displaced people, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The upcoming weapons and equipment package, the 18th such tranche, brings U.S. commitment to about $9.8 billion and includes munitions for long-range weapons and armored medical transport vehicles.

The latest tranche includes for the first time munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, as well as additional ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), 1,000 more Javelin missiles, and more, according to the Pentagon

“It is the largest single drawdown of U.S. arms and equipment utilizing this authority, and this package provides a significant amount of additional ammunition, weapons, and equipment — the types of which the Ukrainian people are using so effectively to defend their country,” reads the Pentagon's statement.

Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters on Monday that "these are all critical capabilities to help the Ukrainians repel the Russian offensive in the east, and also to address evolving developments in the south and elsewhere."

On why the administration chose not to send more HIMARS, the Pentagon top policy official said said that “our assessment actually is that the Ukrainians are doing pretty well in terms of the numbers of systems and really the priority right now is making sure that they have a steady stream of these GMLRS” with a range of about 70 km. Kahl said the U.S. had provided "hundreds" of those systems in the past few weeks and that the Ukrainians have been using them successfully.

The latest security assistance package also includes 50 armored medical treatment vehicles; Claymore anti-personnel munitions; C-4 explosives, demolition munitions and demolition equipment; and medical supplies such as first aid kits, bandages, monitors and other equipment, Kahl said.

According to him, the Russians "are taking a tremendous number of casualties." Russia’s military has suffered roughly 70,000 to 80,000 casualties since it first attacked Ukraine in late February, he said, calling Russian casualties “remarkable” given that Moscow has “achieved none of Vladimir Putin’s objectives” since invading Ukraine six months ago.

He attributed the stark numbers to Ukrainian morale and will to fight, which he said is “unquestioned, and much higher, I think, than the average morale and will to fight on the Russian side,” he said.

“I think that gives the Ukrainians a significant advantage,” Kahl added.

The Pentagon also for the first time acknowledged sending previously undisclosed anti-radar missiles to Ukraine. “In the near term, we’ve been doing lots of things to make Ukraine’s existing air force stay in the air and be more capable,” Kahl said.

The latest aid packages to Ukraine also came as the U.S. announced the seizure of an aircraft owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrei Skoch. The Airbus A319-100, bearing tail number P4-MGU and serial number 5445, is believed to be worth more than $90 million.

The Department of Justice said that Skoch is the beneficial owner of the aircraft “through a series of shell companies and trusts tied to his romantic partner.”

The Justice Department’s KleptoCapture task force, comprised of interagency law enforcement officers from the FBI, Marshals Service, IRS, Postal Inspection, Homeland Security Investigations and Secret Service, aims to target “the crimes of Russian officials, government-aligned elites, and those who aid or conceal their unlawful conduct.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.