What Does Biden’s New Military Aid Package To Ukraine Include? – OpEd
United States President Joe Biden announced on April 13, 2022, that the U.S. will provide Ukraine with another military aid package worth $800 million.
The announcement comes almost two months into the war as Ukraine continues to push back invading Russian forces, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calls for more weapons to bolster Ukraine’s defenses.
“Nobody will stop Russia except Ukraine with heavy weapons,” Zelensky said in a statement on April 13. “Western countries have everything to make it happen. The final victory over the tyranny and the number of people saved depends on them.”
Through previous aid packages the Biden administration has already demonstrated its willingness to answer this call for arms, and in a statement announcing the new $800 million package Biden reiterated the United States’ support for Ukraine.
“As Russia prepares to intensify its attack in the Donbas region, the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself,” Biden said in a statement.
Including this new April 13 package, the United States has reportedly approved $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on Feb. 24.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the weapons and package would be sent to Ukraine as soon as possible, and that previous packages have been delivered in four to five days after the packages were approved.
Below is the full list of what the United States Department of Defense announced it will send to Ukraine as part of the latest package.
- 18 155mm Howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds.
- Ten AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars.
- Two AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel air surveillance radars.
- 300 Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems.
- 500 Javelin missiles and thousands of other anti-armor systems.
- 200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers.
- 100 Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles.
- 11 Mi-17 helicopters.
- Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels.
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment.
- Medical equipment.
- 30,000 sets of body armor and helmets.
- Over 2,000 optics and laser rangefinders.
- C-4 explosives and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing.
- M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions configured to be consistent with the Ottawa Convention.
Arms on this list which Zelensky recently said Ukraine is in need of include the 155mm Howitzer artillery cannons, armored vehicles and military aircraft, although the Mi-17 helicopters fall short of his repeated calls for fighter jets.
Biden said in a statement, “This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine.”
