Air-defense weapons, ammunition and drones for Ukrainian forces included in U.S. military aid worth $275 million announced Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Daniel Avilaramirez/U.S. Marine Corps)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is providing about $275 million in air-defense weapons, ammunition and drones in the latest round of military aid for Ukraine, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
The aid will be provided through the presidential drawdown authority, which means equipment is pulled from existing U.S. military stocks and sent to Ukraine on an emergency basis.
The latest tranche of weapons comes as President Joe Biden’s administration readies for the transition to the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office Jan. 20. Ukraine and Russia are pushing to gain an advantage in the war as Trump has promised to resolve the conflict quickly once he is president.
The White House recently granted permission to Ukraine to fire longer-range American missiles at targets in Russia. Ukraine fired several missiles into Russia on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. According to a U.S. official, Ukraine fired about eight of the missiles, and just two were intercepted by Russian forces. The official said the U.S. was still assessing battle damage, but the missiles struck an ammunition supply location in Karachev, a city of about 18,000 people in Russia’s Bryansk region, according to the AP.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lowered Russia’s threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Moscow warned Ukraine firing the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, at targets inside Russia could trigger a strong response.
“We aren’t surprised by Russia’s update to its nuclear doctrine. It’s something that they’ve been signaling that they intend to update over the last several weeks,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday. “It’s something that we’re going to continue to monitor, but we don’t have any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon within Ukraine.”
The White House has also approved supplying Ukraine with American anti-personnel mines to bolster defenses against Russian forces, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday. The secretary said the U.S. decision was prompted by Russia’s increasing reliance on foot soldiers to lead their assaults instead of armored vehicles.
“[The Ukrainians have] asked for these, and so I think it’s a good idea,” Austin told reporters while traveling in Laos.
The Biden administration would have to rush $7.1 billion in weapons from the Pentagon’s stockpiles in the next two months to spend all the funds allotted for Ukraine aid before Trump takes office. That includes $4.3 billion from a foreign aid bill passed by Congress earlier this year and $2.8 billion still on the books in savings due to the Pentagon recalculating the value of items sent.
Singh said defense officials are working to get Ukraine what it needs.
“We are committed to using that full authority that Congress has allotted to us,” she said. “The only way we can do that also is to make sure that our shelves are fully backfilled and stocked. So as our shelves continue to get stocked with equipment and capabilities that are needed, we draw down from those and send those to Ukraine.”
The U.S. has provided about $60.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russian forces invaded the country in February 2022.
The items in the military aid announced Wednesday include:
• Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.
• 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition.
• 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds.
• Unmanned aerial systems.
• Tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles.
• Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems.
• Small arms and ammunition.
• Demolitions equipment and munitions.
• Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear protective equipment.
• Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation.
