US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a $6 billion military aid package for Ukraine on Friday as Washington tries to make up for a delay in supplies to Kiev after months of gridlock in the US Congress, reports AFP.
War in Ukraine: Picture from the frontPhoto: Alex Babenko / AP / Profimedia
“This is the largest military aid package that we have announced so far,” the US official stressed at a press conference.
This aid program includes anti-aircraft defense, anti-drone systems, artillery ammunition.
It will allow Kiev to “stabilize the front line,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
It is the second round of aid announced this week, following the $1 billion announced on Wednesday.
The two sums are part of the $61 billion aid budget for Kiev approved last Saturday in Congress and later signed into law by Joe Biden.
If the $1 billion in aid unveiled Wednesday comes from US military stockpiles, the one announced Friday will come from contracts with the defense industry or partners. Which means it will take longer to reach the battlefield.
After signing into law on Wednesday the $61 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine, Joe Biden promised a swift and massive shipment of weapons.
Kiev, forced to remove its Abrams tanks from the battlefield due to Russian drones
Ukraine has been forced to move its U.S.-supplied Abrams M1A1 battle tanks from the front line, in large part because of the large number of Russian drones that make it too difficult to operate them without being detected or attacked, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.
The proliferation of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield means “there is no longer any open ground you can cross without fear of detection,” a senior defense official said Thursday.
Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kirilo Budanov said the situation is expected to worsen in mid-May and early June, which will be a “difficult period”.
The same forecast is shared by Western officials, who believe that the next three months will be “very difficult” for Kiev’s ground forces.
The United States is Kiev’s main military backer, but Congress has been half a year late in passing a major package for its ally.
Until this week, Washington had announced aid for Ukraine only once this year: a $300 million aid package in March, made possible only by Pentagon savings on other purchases.
The adoption of this aid plan is a relief for the Ukrainian army, which is facing a shortage of new recruits and ammunition in the face of constant pressure from Russian troops in the east.
In this context, if the American aid will allow the Ukrainian army to regain the initiative against Russia, the preparation of a counteroffensive will take much longer, an American military official estimated on Thursday.
“The Ukrainians have been rationing their ammunition for some time (…), so the Russians, in short, have resumed the initiative,” this official told the press on condition of anonymity.
Military aid from allies “will allow the Ukrainians to start regaining the initiative,” but “it won’t be a quick process,” she added.
The reception and operational implementation of the new deliveries will take time, just “to defend their positions”, she warned, saying that she did not expect “a large-scale offensive at the beginning”.
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