(Washington) The White House on Thursday approved a new round of up to $600 million in military assistance to Ukraine, mostly ammunition for artillery systems that Ukrainian forces already have, but no missiles at longer range.
Posted at 9:59 p.m.
In a press release, the American executive indicates that it has authorized the Pentagon to draw on its stocks to deliver equipment and services to Ukraine, as well as training, without further details.
For its part, the Pentagon specified that this new tranche of military aid to Ukraine would notably include precision missiles for the Himars artillery systems already delivered to Kyiv, as well as shells compatible with the other systems available to the Ukrainian forces.
With this new tranche of aid, Washington is also sending anti-artillery radars, armored vehicles, anti-drone systems and mine clearance equipment, equipment which is all “calibrated” to meet the needs of Ukrainian forces, noted the Foreign Minister Antony Blinken.
“Together with our allies and partners, we are delivering the weapons and equipment used very effectively by Ukrainian forces as they continue their counteroffensive against Russia,” Blinken added in a statement.
“President Biden has been clear: we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said.
But this new tranche of aid does not provide for the dispatch of longer-range ATACMS-type missiles, capable of striking at a distance of 300 kilometers and requested by Kyiv.
Last week, the American Chief of Staff, American General Mark Milley, once again imposed a dismissal on Kyiv on these weapons capable of targeting targets on Russian territory, which for Washington poses a risk of conflict escalation.
“We believe that the range of the Himars is sufficient to meet the needs of the Ukrainians in their current fight,” he recalled.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States has already provided $15.1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24, and $15.8 billion since the arrival of Joe Biden at the White House in January 2021.
This new American announcement comes as the Ukrainian army has been leading a vast counter-offensive in the south and east of the country since the beginning of the month.