✪ The Biden administration is set to send its 15th security assistance package to Ukraine, bringing the tally of U.S. military and humanitarian aid to more than $67 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.…
The aid comes as Moscow this week claimed full control of Ukraine’s Luhansk province in the Donbas, but Ukrainian officials say their troops still control a small part of the province and fierce fighting continues in several villages.
Heavy artillery platforms like Howitzers and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, sit high on Ukrainian military wish lists.
The defense official said that the four new High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, added to eight that were previously sent, will allow Ukrainian forces to hit Russian command and control nodes, logistics capabilities and other systems that are farther behind the battlefront. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public oh how many Ukrainian troops have been trained on US HIMAR systems.
“We will continue to train them because we see this as a sustained battle,” the official said, adding that HIMARS training takes approximately a week to complete. Ukraine now has a total of 12 US HIMAR systems.
The HIMARS, manufactured by defense giant Lockheed Martin, are designed to shoot a variety of missiles from a mobile 5-ton truck. The official said that U.S. troops will keep training Ukrainian forces on how to use the platform at a location outside the country.
Russia in recent days has launched dozens of missiles across Ukraine and pinned down Ukrainian forces with continuous long-range fire, sometimes for hours at a time. Ukraine’s leaders have publicly called on Western allies to quickly send more ammunition and advanced systems that will help them narrow the gap in equipment and manpower. The precision weapons can help Ukraine hit Russian weapons that are farther away and are being used to bombard Ukrainian locations.
The latest aid is the 15th package of military weapons and equipment transferred to Ukraine from Defense Department stocks since last August. In addition to the HIMARS, the U.S. will also send 1,000 rounds of 155-millimeter artillery, which has an increased precision capability that also will help Ukraine hit specific targets. The package also will include three tactical vehicles, radar systems, spare parts and other equipment.
Looking ahead to the coming months, the official said that a key goal is to build up Ukraine’s logistics and repair capabilities so troops can maintain its weapons systems and continue the fight into the future.
Overall, the U.S. has sent about $67.3 billion in aid to Ukraine since the war began in late February.
Luhansk is one of two provinces that make up the Donbas, a region of mines and factories where pro-Moscow separatists have fought Ukraine’s army for eight years and declared independent republics that Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized before he sent troops into Ukraine.
Putin on Thursday warned that Kyiv should accept Moscow’s terms or brace for the worst, saying that Russia hasn’t yet “started anything in earnest.”
U.S. and other Western officials have said that Russia has been making slow, incremental progress in the Donbas but has not made gains as rapidly as Moscow initially intended. President Biden has said that the U.S. is giving Ukrainians the aid needed to continue to resist Russian aggression.
“I don’t know how it’s going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine,” Biden said last week. ✪
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