The Pentagon will be drawing military equipment directly from its stocks and sending it to Ukraine as part of the latest assistance package announced on Tuesday.
The presidential drawdown is the Biden administration’s fortieth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
It includes key capabilities to aid Ukraine’s efforts to retake its sovereign territory as part of its long-awaited counter-offensive, which is now underway.
The Pentagon said the equipment would also support Ukraine’s air defenders as they “bravely protect Ukraine’s soldiers, civilians, and critical infrastructure.” Additionally, artillery, anti-armor systems, and ammunition are also being sent.
The transfer is valued at up to $325 million and includes additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), Stinger anti-aircraft systems, additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), and 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds.
It also contains 15 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, with many interpreting the additional vehicles as a replacement for Bradleys lost in Ukraine’s initial probing actions at the beginning of the counter-offensive.
As the Pentagon announced the additional equipment for Ukraine, Russia’s defense ministry released footage of US-delivered Bradley IFVs and German-built Leopard 2 main battle tanks as they were being seized following a failed Ukrainian breaching operation earlier this month.
According to the Oryx Blog, which tracks equipment losses in the conflict through open source analysis, the Ukrainian side abandoned one Leopard 2A6, four M2 Bradleys and one BMR-2 mine-clearing tank during an attack in the Zaporizhzia region.
The latest aid package for Ukraine will also include 10 Stryker armored personnel carriers, Javelin anti-armor systems; Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles, AT-4 anti-armor systems, over 22 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades, demolition munitions for obstacle clearing, spare parts and other field equipment.
In total, the United States has committed more than $40.7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including more than $40 billion since the beginning of Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
