10 May 2023 13:40

U.S. provides Ukraine with $1.2 bln in military aid including air defense systems, 155mm artillery rounds - Pentagon

WASHINGTON. May 10 (Interfax) - The United States will provide Ukraine with a $1.2 billion package including air defense systems and 155mm artillery rounds, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement.

The grant is part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, meaning that the U.S. will send the equipment not from its own arsenals but will receive it from the defense industry or from its partners.

Ukraine should also receive additional air defense systems and munitions equipment to integrate Western air-defense launchers, missiles, and radars with its own air defense systems, it said.

The package also includes ammunition to shoot down unmanned aerial systems, commercial, satellite-imagery services, and support for training, maintenance, and sustainment activities, it said.

The White House said on May 3 that the U.S. would send military assistance from its own arsenals to Ukraine for the 37th time under President Joe Biden's directive. That $300-million package included rockets for HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, artillery rounds, howitzers, antitank munitions, Hydra 70 unguided air-launched missiles, small arms and cartridges for them.

The overall volume of military assistance the U.S. provided to Ukraine by the end of April reached roughly $36 billion.