US Announces $250 Million Arms Package for Ukraine

The US on Friday announced a new $250 million weapons package for Ukraine that includes HIMARS ammunition, air defenses, Stinger missiles, artillery rounds, and other equipment.

The weapons package is being provided through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows President Biden to provide arms directly from US military stockpiles.

The funds are being pulled from the $95 billion foreign military aid bill President Biden signed into law in April. The bill included $61 billion to fund the proxy war in Ukraine for another year.

The new arms package comes as Russian forces are making steady gains in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Oblast and amid fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, which has failed to distract Russia from its push in the Donbas.

According to the Pentagon, the arms package includes:

• RIM-7 missiles and support for air defense
• Stinger missiles
• Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
• 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition
• Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles
• Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems
• Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles
• M113 Armored Personnel Carriers
• Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles
• Small arms ammunition and grenades
• Patrol boats
• Maritime training equipment
• Demolitions equipment and munitions
• Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation 

The Pentagon also released a fact sheet stating that the US has committed $59.9 billion in military equipment to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Once the $61 billion from the April military aid bill is exhausted, total US spending on the proxy war, which includes other types of assistance and US deployments to Europe, will reach about $186 billion.