U.S. to boost Ukraine’s air defenses with new weapons package

The Biden administration pledged on Tuesday to commit another $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine, saying it will provide additional air defense systems that include gun trucks and laser-guided weapons to counter Russia’s relentless use of drones.

The package includes about $500 million in equipment from U.S. military stocks for immediate or near-term transfer plus an additional $2.1 billion in arms that the administration will order using a congressionally approved fund known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, U.S. officials said. Delivery of those items is likely months away.

In all, the administration has now pledged more than $35 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded nearly 14 months ago. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the commitment of air defenses “will allow Ukraine to continue to bravely defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war.” Until Moscow ends its invasion, he added, “the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Public support for the administration’s efforts has waned among some Republicans, although a majority in Congress continues to back the robust aid program, with members of both parties saying the United States and its allies need to do even more.

Tuesday’s announcement comes as fighting remains intense in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, where Pentagon officials assess the conflict has reached a bloody stalemate, and with both sides preparing to go on offense with the winter thaw.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for its new “large-scale” commitment of weapons, saying on Twitter that his country, while preparing to liberate territory occupied by Russia, values the “unflagging” support of President Biden and the American people.

Most of the weapons being pulled from U.S. stocks are familiar to the Ukrainians. They include munitions for the Patriot air defense missile system that the administration pledged to Ukraine late last year. Ukrainian troops recently completed training on the advanced system at an Army post in Oklahoma.

The package contains 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds, 120 mm mortar rounds, and 120 mm and 105 mm tank ammunition, the Pentagon said. It also includes anti-armor weapons known as TOW missiles, 400 grenade launchers and 200,000 rounds of ammunition for them. The Pentagon also is sending 11 more tactical vehicles to enable the recovery of heavy equipment and 61 refueling trucks, defense officials said.

Using the $2.1 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative money, the Pentagon will order nine gun trucks armed with 30 mm weapons and 10 laser-guided rocket systems. Both are intended to shoot down enemy drones, officials said.

Russia has waged an aggressive attack on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure using one-way unmanned aircraft bought supplied by Iran that fly low and slow, making them difficult for some air defenses to detect. Ukrainian forces could use the laser-guided rockets as well to target smaller drones that buzz the front lines, surveilling their positions and making them vulnerable to artillery strikes.

The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package includes money as well to purchase 30 mm and 23 mm antiaircraft ammunition, and 122 mm ammunition for Soviet-designed rocket launchers, defense officials said.

Though the Pentagon has given some howitzers to Ukraine, U.S. ammunition is incompatible with many of the its Soviet-era artillery systems, and U.S. manufacturers do not produce such rounds. One solution, a U.S. defense official said, has been to tap into existing global stockpiles to hunt down the munitions some countries hold in reserve. It’s a time-consuming effort, this person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon.

“We will continue to procure these capabilities for the Ukrainians because we recognize that they still do have a lot of Soviet type equipment and if we can keep it in the fight, we can enable their effectiveness,” the official said.

Ukraine’s commanders are burning through vast amounts of ammunition in a constant exchange of artillery fire, causing shortfalls and concern among front line troops that they won’t have enough to fuel their counteroffensive and push back Russian forces who are better supplied.