The Department of Defense has announced another $2 billion in defense spending for Ukraine.
The financial aid comes in the form of a security assistance package that will build on previous aid supplied to the war-torn Eastern European country.
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In this May 23, 2011, file photo a launch truck fires the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) produced by Lockheed Martin during combat training in the high desert of the Yakima Training Center, Washington. (Tony Overman/The Olympian via AP)
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attends a news conference with Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks in Riga, Latvia August 10, 2022. (REUTERS/Ints Kalnins)
In a Friday statement, the Pentagon outlined the armaments being provided in the new package, including 155mm artillery ammunition, mine clearing equipment, rocket system munitions, electronic warfare detection equipment, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems ammunition, and more.
Ukraine’s latest gift from the US was announced on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion — a solemn occasion noted by DOD officials.
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“Today’s solemn anniversary is an opportunity for all who believe in freedom, rules, and sovereignty to recommit ourselves to supporting Ukraine’s brave defenders for the long haul— and to recall that the stakes of Russia’s war stretch far beyond Ukraine,” said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III.
President Biden and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visit Saint Michael’s cathedral, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 20, 2023. (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)
Austin boasted of US spending on support of Ukraine over the past year, reflecting on $32 billion worth of assistance that includes “more than 1,600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems; more than 8,500 Javelin anti-armor systems; 232 howitzers and more than two million rounds of artillery ammunition; 38 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and ammunition; a Patriot air-defense battery; eight National Advanced Surface-toAir Missile Systems (NASAMS) and other key air-defense capabilities; 109 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles; 31 Abrams tanks; and 90 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers.”
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Austin spoke positively of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its member-states’ global contributions to the war effort.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands at the podium during a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)
“NATO is more united than ever, and the U.S. commitment to defend every inch of allied territory remains ironclad. One year into a war of aggression waged by a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, our allies and partners worldwide stand united and resolute,” Austin wrote.
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He added, “Putin’s reckless, illegal war is not just an all-out assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and a historic threat to European security.”
