US MILITARY SUPPORT TO UKRAINE

 

Today, October 04, 2022, the White House announced that President Biden, during a phone call with President Zelenskyy, had promised a further military aid package using Presidential Drawdown Authority of c$625 million.

The package comprises:

• 4 x M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) with ammuniton,
• 16 x 155mm howitzers,
• 75,000 x 155mm artillery rounds,
• 500 x precision-guided 155mm rounds,
• 1,000 x 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) systems,
• 16 x 105mm howitzers (likely M119),
• 30,000 x 120mm mortar rounds,
• 200 x MaxxPro Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP),
• 200,000 x small arms ammunition,
• Obstacle Emplacement Equipment, and
• Claymore Anti-Personnel Munitions.

The current total of military equipment provision can be seen here.

The HIMARS is a wheeled vehicle that fires GPS-guided missiles from pre-loaded pods of 6 missiles for rapid re-load.  Its accuracy and speed of movement is providing a superior artillery advantage.  The UK has provided 6 x M270 Multiple Rocket Launcher System (MRLS), a tracked version of the HIMARS carrying two pods that fire the same missiles.  This capability has had a significant effect on Russian forces.

This is the first aid package since the Russian State Duma approved "accession treaties" on October 03, 2022, for the annexation of occupied territory in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.  During the call, Biden also told Zelenskyy that the US will never recognize Russia's annexation of occupied territory.  The US prohibition on using US-supplied weapons against Russian targets on Russian territory, does not apply to these territories.

It is not reported whether the call included discussion of Zelenskyy's requests for, accelerated accession to NATO membership or the offer, to the US, of full visibility of Ukrainian targeting, with veto power, if the US supplies the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).  The provision of ATACMS would be significant capability increase, with a range of 300km compared to the Guided Mutiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) with a range of 70km.  The ATACMS can be fired from the M-142 HIMARS or the M-270 MRLS.

Today's announcement is an overt message to Russian President Putin of the long-term nature of support to Ukraine. 

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