US to send Ukraine another $200M in weapons and equipment using unspent funds granted by Congress
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is sending Ukraine $200 million in weapons and equipment from congressionally approved funds that the Pentagon discovered had not yet been spent during a June re-evaluation of its expenses.
The package will include Patriot air-defense system munitions, 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, HIMARS ammunition, TOW missiles, Javelins and 120 mm ammunition for tanks, according to the Defense Department.
The Biden administration will also send military equipment – including 58 water trailers, 37 tactical vehicles and demolition munitions for obstacle clearing.
Monday’s announcement comes as the war in Ukraine approaches its 18-month anniversary and Kyiv continues its counter-offensive in the east of the country, fighting to liberate towns occupied by Russian forces.
“Every day, Russia is killing Ukrainian civilians and destroying civil infrastructure, while also weaponizing hunger and contributing to global food insecurity through its destruction of Ukraine’s civilian ports and grain infrastructure,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Monday.
The latest package comes after the Pentagon discovered an accounting error had led to the over-valuation of previously dispatched tranches of military aid by about $6.2 million.
The DoD said the error stemmed from analysts over-estimating the price of used weapons sent from US stocks, mistakenly tallying their prices as if they were newly minted equipment.
“The security assistance package will utilize assistance previously authorized under presidential drawdown authority for Ukraine that remained after the PDA reevaluation process concluded in June,” the Pentagon said Monday.
This is President Biden’s 44th military aid package for Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24 2022. In total, those packages add up to about $43 billion, according to the Pentagon.
“The United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements,” the Defense Department added Monday.
Moscow has shown little interest in ending its war on Ukraine, continuing its deadly attacks on innocent Ukrainians and civilian infrastructure.
Over the weekend, Russia’s renewed bombings throughout Ukraine’s Kherson region killed seven people, including a 23-day-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, regional officials said.
Blinken said the US and its “allies and partners” would “stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes.”
“Russia started this war,” he said, “and could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks.”
