Specialist John Koutsoyanopulos, a combat engineer from the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd ABCT, 1st Infantry Division, trains soldiers on the operation of the M60 Armored Vehicle-Launched Bridge system Feb. 28, 2020. The M60 AVLB is based on the M60 Patton main battle tank hull and is used for the launching and retrieval of a 60-foot, scissor-type bridge. (Simon McTizic/U.S. Army)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is sending Ukraine another $400 million in arms and equipment from its military stockpiles, including armored vehicles that can launch bridges for rapid tank deployments, defense officials announced Friday.

The latest security assistance for Ukraine comes amid a two-day Washington visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who agreed last month to deliver German tanks to the battlefield only after the U.S. said it would eventually send its own Abrams tanks.

Armored vehicle-launched bridges are included for the first time in a security assistance package to help Ukrainian troops quickly deploy tanks and other armored vehicles across rivers and other gaps.

“Russia alone could end its war today,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “Until Russia does so, for as long as it takes, we will stand united with Ukraine and strengthen its military on the battlefield so that Ukraine will be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.”

Much of the newest aid is dedicated to resupplying Ukraine with critical munitions as Kyiv’s artillery stockpile runs low. It includes additional artillery rounds for howitzers and rockets for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, which Ukraine has used to hit Russian ammunition depots, logistics supplies and command centers on Ukrainian territory.

Stevedore drivers work through the night to load Bradley Fighting Vehicles onto the ARC Integrity on Jan. 25, 2023, at the Transportation Core Dock in Charleston, S.C. More than 60 Bradleys were shipped by U.S. Transportation Command as part of the U.S. military aid package to Ukraine. (Oz Suguitan/Defense Department)

The U.S. is also sending more ammunition for the 109 Bradley fighting vehicles pledged to Ukraine as well as demolition munitions and equipment for obstacle clearing, according to the Defense Department. In a sign of the war’s intense toll on weapons systems, the U.S. is also delivering spare parts and testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair.

Ukraine is widely expected to launch a counteroffensive in the spring as it seeks to retake territory occupied by Russian forces since 2014, when the Kremlin illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula and fomented a separatist uprising in the eastern Donbas region.

Total U.S. military aid to Ukraine has exceeded $32 billion since Russia’s invasion of its neighbor last year. The latest aid package marks the 33rd time that the U.S. has reached into its weapons inventories to supply Ukraine since August 2021, according to the State Department.

The new announcement of military support comes a week after the one-year anniversary of the war and days after Blinken spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, for the first time since the invasion. Blinken said Friday that the U.S. will continue to rally the world to support Ukraine.

“This week, as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues at great cost, we are again reminded of the boundless courage and steadfast resolve of the people of Ukraine as well as the strong support for Ukraine in the international community,” Blinken said in a statement.