Yesterday, September 08, 2022, the US announced two further military aid packages for Ukraine. These are in addition to that announced on August 24, 2022, (see Ukraine: Will Attrition Stop Putin?).
The announcement, by Secretary of Defense Austin, is of a further drawdown from US military stock, valued at $675 mn, and includes:
- Ammunition for M142 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS),
- 1,000 x 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine Systems (RAAMS),
- 4 x 105mm howitzers (likely the M119) with 36,000 rounds of ammunition,
- Additional High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM),
- 100 x armored High-Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV),
- 1,500,000 rounds of small arms ammunition,
- >5,000 anti-armor systems,
- Additional grenade launchers and small arms,
- 50 x armored medical treatment vehicles, and
- Night vision devices.
Austin also announced that he will host a meeting of "senior armaments directors" from member nations of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group to discuss Ukrainian needs.
Yesterday, Secretary of State Blinken, announced $2.2 bn of Foreign Military Financing, that will consist of $1bn for Ukraine and $1.2 bn to be shared between: Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Foreign Military Financing is administered by the State Dept and is provided to recipients to buy US-made defense equipment. In this case, the State Dept statement said that it should be used to "deter and defend against emergent threats to their sovereignty and territorial integrity, increase professionalism and modernization of their security forces, enhance partner integration with NATO, and strengthen defensive cyber, hybrid warfare, and conventional capabilities to counter Russian influence and aggression.
The Blinken announcement signals to Putin that Ukraine has international-backing for an extended conflict that is severely impacting Russians resources. Ukrainian activity has so far constrained Russian campaign objectives in the south and the Donetsk Oblast. Current activity has seen Ukraine having territorial success near Kherson and Kharkiv.
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