US to send up to US$400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, officials say

Name: Crimea bridge 'emergency' caused by Ukrainian surface drones, Russia says
Uploaded: 2023-07-24T22:36:04.000Z
Duration: 1 min 34 s
Description: Crimea bridge 'emergency' caused by Ukrainian surface drones, Russia says

The package includes a variety of munitions for advanced air defence systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones, US officials said on Monday

Overall the US has provided more than US$41 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022

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Ukrainian servicemen prepare to fire towards Russian positions on a frontline in eastern Ukraine, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Associated Press

Published: 6:36am, 25 Jul 2023

The Biden administration is sending up to US$400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of munitions for advanced air defence systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones, US officials said on Monday, as attacks in the war escalated to include strikes in Moscow and Crimea.

The package includes an array of ammunition – ranging from missiles for the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) to Stingers and Javelins.

The weapons are being provided through presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to quickly take items from its own stocks and deliver them to Ukraine, often within days.

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Crimea bridge 'emergency' caused by Ukrainian surface drones, Russia says

Officials said the US is also sending howitzer artillery rounds and 32 Stryker armoured vehicles, along with demolition equipment, mortars, Hydra-70 rockets and 28 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

The Hornets are tiny nano-drones that are used largely for intelligence gathering. Ukraine has also received them in the past from other Western allies. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid package has not yet been announced.

Overall the United States has provided more than US$41 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

The latest package of weapons comes as a Ukrainian drone struck an ammunition depot in Russian-annexed Crimea and Russia accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Moscow. Russian media reported that one of the drones fell near the city centre, not far from the towering Defence Ministry building.