Pfc. Matthew Becerra of the 25th Infantry Division, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1-21 Infantry inspects and prepares his Stryker armored personnel carrier to be fitted with MILES gear to enhance training during their rotation through the National Training Center. (Rafael Rodriguez/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will send another package of military aid to Ukraine worth about $2.5 billion and include more Bradley armored vehicles and, for the first time, Stryker personnel carriers, defense officials announced Thursday.
The new round of military assistance was announced late Thursday before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany scheduled for Friday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will attend the meeting to discuss what additional weapons that Ukraine might need to fight off invading Russian forces.
The Pentagon said the new round of equipment and weapons is being provided through presidential drawdown authority and will include 59 more Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers.
The Defense Department said the Bradleys and Strykers will “provide Ukraine with two brigades of armored capability.” The Pentagon had already committed 50 Bradleys to Ukraine earlier this month.
The new security package also includes several more Avenger air defense systems, dozens of Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicles, about 350 more Humvees, millions of various artillery and small-arms ammunition rounds, other tactical vehicles, spare parts and demolition equipment. Military education and training are also part of the new aid.
“[Russia’s] most recent air attacks against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure again demonstrate the devastating impact of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine,” the Pentagon said in its announcement of the aid. “This package provides additional [National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems] munitions and Avenger air defense systems to help Ukraine counter a range of short- and medium-range threats and bolster Ukraine’s layered air defense.”
Airmen from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron load cargo during a security assistance mission at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Jan. 13, 2023. The United States has committed more than $24.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russian aggression. (Marco Gomez/U.S. Air Force)
M1 Abrams tanks are not part of the new security package. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have been under pressure this week to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks that some experts say would be highly effective against Russian forces.
However, Scholz has so far declined to send the tanks to Ukraine, saying he might be persuaded to send them if the U.S. concurrently sent a shipment of M1 Abrams tanks. Pentagon officials have said the M1 Abrams isn’t suited for the battlefields in Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has given Ukraine close to $27 billion in military assistance.
