A U.S. Army Patriot missile system in Croatia in May 2021 participating in DEFENDER-Europe 21 exercises. (Alexandra Shea/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — The latest U.S. military aid for Ukraine worth up to $300 million includes munitions for drones, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
The drone ammunition in the new military aid follows attacks Tuesday by unmanned aircraft that targeted Moscow. However, there is no indication that U.S.-made drones or munitions were used in the recent attacks on Moscow, and U.S. officials have repeatedly said Ukraine has agreed not to use any American-provided weapons for attacks on Russian soil.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for Tuesday's attack, though Ukrainian officials have not commented directly about it.
The latest drone attack on Moscow follows a Russian takeover of the eastern Ukrainian city Bakhmut after a nine-month battle that killed tens of thousands of people. Ukraine’s long-awaited spring counterattack also could be underway now.
“The United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Other equipment in the package includes munitions for Patriot missile batteries and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, mine-clearing equipment, anti-armor rounds and more than 30 million rounds of small arms ammunition.
The equipment and weapons are being given through the presidential drawdown authority, which means it will come directly from Pentagon stocks and sent quickly on an emergency basis. Aid given this way typically means it reaches Ukraine in a matter of weeks.
Including the latest aid, the U.S. has provided more than $37.6 billion to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.
The weapons and equipment in the latest package include:
• Additional munitions for Patriot air-defense systems.
• AIM-7 missiles for air defense.
• Avenger air-defense systems.
• Stinger anti-aircraft systems.
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.
• 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds.
• 105mm tank ammunition.
• Precision aerial munitions.
• Zuni aircraft rockets.
• Munitions for drones.
• AT-4 anti-armor systems.
• More than 30 million rounds of small arms ammunition.
• Mine clearing equipment and systems.
• Demolition munitions for obstacle clearing.
• Night-vision devices.
• Spare parts, generators, and other field equipment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
